The New England Patriots’ offense has been brutal this season with Matt Patricia calling plays.
Therefore, it’s reasonable to assume Bill Belichick will consider hiring a new offensive coordinator this offseason, a year removed from Josh McDaniels vacating the position to become head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.
But who might Belichick turn to while building his staff for 2023?
The Athletic’s Mike Sando explored this question Monday in his “Pick Six” column, which included a few familiar names and a prediction from a coach.
Here’s what Sando wrote:
“A coach with AFC East experience predicted Belichick would pursue for his offensive coordinator someone with ties to New England (Bill O’Brien, Chad O’Shea, etc.) or with ties to Alabama coach Nick Saban. Former Saban assistant and two-time NFL head coach Adam Gase’s name surfaced in reports last offseason as Belichick sought to replace Josh McDaniels as offensive coordinator. Gase has not coached since 2020, his final season with the Jets. He and McDaniels started in coaching under Saban at Michigan State, with Gase following Saban from there to LSU, while McDaniels landed with Belichick.”
Obviously, this is rather vague, as it leaves the door open for several candidates with whom Belichick is familiar. But another “AFC East coaching veteran” suggested to Sando that “all signs point to O’Brien,” which certainly makes sense with NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport recently labeling O’Brien a “strong option” to return to New England.
O’Brien currently is the offensive coordinator at Alabama, under Saban. He previously served as the Patriots’ quarterbacks coach and offensive play-caller for three seasons beginning in 2009, a tenure that ended when he left to become the head coach at Penn State and then eventually of the Houston Texans.
Hiring O’Brien, or someone comparable, might not solve all of New England’s problems, especially with quarterback Mac Jones regressing in his second NFL season. But it certainly would be a step in the right direction, perhaps paving the way for Patricia to focus on the offensive line while Joe Judge works with Jones and the team’s other QBs.
