Might Joe Judge’s Role On Patriots Be Different Than Anticipated?

The curious case of Joe Judge continues.

Judge was expected to serve as Bill Belichick's assistant head coach and return to his roots on special teams this season. But while his assistant head coach title has been confirmed by the Patriots, it seems Judge could be working in his third phase of the game.

Judge currently is listed under the "Defense" heading on the Patriots' coaching page, as pointed out by WEEI's Mike Kadick on Thursday.

The 41-year-old is listed with other defensive coaches including linebackers coach Jerod Mayo, defensive line coach Demarcus Covington as well as Steve and Brian Belichick, who will coach linebackers and safeties, respectively.

Found this interesting: Joe Judge is listed under the “defense” heading on the Patriots coaching page. His title is “assistant head coach,” as expected. It was thought he would be working more with special teams, though.

Could it be nothing? Sure. But caught me by surprise. pic.twitter.com/z2KHRnfhVi

— Sean T. McGuire (@BySeanMcGuire) July 20, 2023

The only coaches appearing under the "Special Teams" heading: coordinator Cameron Achord and assistant Joe Houston.

Could it be human error? Perhaps. And the noteworthiness is up for debate.

But it nevertheless is a bit unexpected. After all, ESPN's Mike Reiss and Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer both reported this offseason that Judge would coach special teams in some capacity in 2023. Achord essentially confirmed Judge would be helping out in the role and it appeared that way during organized team activities this spring.

The tight-lipped Bill Belichick never confirmed Judge's position.

"Yeah, he'll do whatever I ask him to do," the Patriots head coach said before an OTA session this spring. "It might change from time to time. He'll be involved in a lot of things."

According to Pro Football Reference, the last time Judge coached on the defensive side of the ball was in 2008 when he served as the linebackers coach for Division III Birmingham-Southern. He joined Alabama as a special teams assistant the following season.

Judge excelled as a special teams coordinator in New England (2015-2019) before he became the head coach of the New York Giants. He returned to Foxboro in 2022 and served as New England's quarterbacks coach and offensive assistant. Judge and offensive play-caller Matt Patricia were viewed as a major reason behind the offense's regression under then-sophomore quarterback Mac Jones.

Bill O'Brien was hired this offseason to serve as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, both positions which are listed on the team website.