For years, the Patriots offensive coaching staff resembled a pyramid, with Josh McDaniels at the top and a slew of quality, supportive assistants working underneath him.
In 2022, it might look more like a jigsaw puzzle.
New England recently re-hired Joe Judge, who had been fired as head coach of the New York Giants, as an offensive assistant. Judge previously worked with the Patriots as a special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach. A couple of days later, Josh McDaniels poached a pair of New England's offensive assistants to work on his staff with the Las Vegas Raiders. As it currently stands, the Patriots have lost four offensive assistants this offseason, with the number likely rising to five with the expected retirement of running backs coach Ivan Fears.
Soon after Judge was hired, multiple reports indicated that, rather than hiring old friend Bill O'Brien to be the next offensive coordinator, the Patriots would deploy a collaborative approach, with Judge, Matt Patricia and even head coach Bill Belichick chipping in. Then, early this week, Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston reported that O'Brien still could return to New England.
So, things are a bit all over the place. However, during Wednesday's "Zolak & Bertrand" episode on 98.5 The Sports Hub, former Patriot and current radio broadcaster Scott Zolak confidently predicted what New England's offensive staff will look like next season. Zolak couched most of his predictions as "assumptions," but said this with conviction: "Billy O'Brien will not be the offensive coordinator."
He also said that former New York Jets head coach Adam Gase, a rumored candidate for New England's OC vacancy, will not get the job.
Here's his full coaching breakdown:
Quarterbacks/passing game coordinator: Nick Caley
Tight ends/co-run game coordinator: Joe Judge
Offensive line/co-run game coordinator: Matt Patricia
Wide receivers: Troy Brown
Zolak added that Patricial likely will handle play-calling duties with help from Caley, currently the tight ends coach.
Obviously, Zolak isn't a traditional NFL reporter, so his words should be taken with a grain of salt. But he knows people at Gillette Stadium, and what he says is worth paying attention to, at the very least.
That said, we still have no idea of how the Patriots will assemble their coaching staff. A report from The Athletic's Jeff Howe on Friday indicated that everything remains on the table, including O'Brien taking the offensive coordinator job.
