If Bill Belichick is the head coach of the New England Patriots in 2023, it sounds like both Matt Patricia and Joe Judge will be on his staff.
The only question is: What will be their roles next season?
The pair of Patriots staffers, who returned to Foxboro in the offseason after failed head-coaching stints, have received heaps of criticism this season due to New England's struggling offense. Mac Jones has significantly regressed in Year 2 with Patricia calling the plays and the offense, in general, has looked mostly anemic since the start of the season.
It probably would behoove the Patriots to tweak their offensive coaching staff after the campaign and there's already a rumor out there that former offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien "probably" is going to make his way back to New England. But if O'Brien does take up his old post, that doesn't mean neither Patricia nor Judge will be out of a job with the Patriots.
"He'd (O'Brien) have to leave his current post at Alabama, which is playing in the Sugar Bowl on Saturday, but it's not out of the question," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler wrote in a column published Wednesday. "As for Matt Patricia and Joe Judge (who were appointed this year to head up the offense in spite of their past credentials being mainly on defense and special teams), my guess is Belichick would find other roles on the staff for them because he does believe in them as coaches and values trust above pretty much anything else when looking for assistants."
This shouldn't be taken as bad news for Patriots fans. In theory, Patricia could move back to the defensive side of the ball, especially if Jerod Mayo lands a better job elsewhere. Judge, meanwhile, could take on special-teams duties, which helped him gain coaching acclaim before he took the job with the New York Giants.
So, Patricia and Judge staying on staff probably wouldn't be a problem for the Patriots. But it would be inexcusable of Belichick to keep them in their current roles moving forward.
