Top 5 offensive coordinator options for the New England Patriots
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (BVM) – Shortly after the New England Patriots’ 2022 season ended, Bill Belichick made it clear he intends to return for his 24th season as head coach in 2023. The 70-year-old coach coming back is certainly a win for Patriots fans, but who will fill out the rest of Belichick’s staff is the real question.
On the defensive side, it seems the Patriots will still be in good hands between Belichick’s sons, Steve and Brian, while they are also in talks to retain current linebackers coach Jerod Mayo long term. Mayo, a former Patriots linebacker, has also been linked to recent head-coaching vacancies, specifically with the Carolina Panthers.
However, the offensive side of the ball is where the Patriots will likely place their focus this offseason. In 2022, New England went without a true offensive coordinator following the departure of Josh McDaniels to Las Vegas, as former defensive coordinator Matt Patricia called plays with the title of senior football advisor and offensive line coach. He worked alongside another former Pats assistant who previously flamed out as a head coach and returned to Foxborough in Joe Judge, who served as an offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach.
The results with Patricia and Judge at the helm were not pretty. The Patriots were in the bottom seven in the NFL when it comes to yards per game this past season, last in red zone efficiency, and scored just 31 touchdowns, a 17-score drop from 2021. They were also towards the bottom of the league in first downs as well as third-down conversion percentage.
The numbers are bad enough, but to make matters worse, the growth of young quarterback Mac Jones was stunted, as he was often visibly frustrated on the field with his offensive coaches during games this season.
Mac Jones is having the time of his life under Matt Patricia pic.twitter.com/u4joRkGxHQ
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) December 2, 2022
While he did deal with injuries early in the year, Jones’ numbers dropped drastically, as he threw for about 800 less yards and eight less touchdowns.
Between the drop in numbers, the lack of development for Jones and suffering an 8-9 season in which they failed to make the playoffs, the Patriots need an offensive coordinator, and they will need to get the hire right to find greater success in 2023. Here are the top five candidates to become the Patriots’ offensive coordinator next season.
