Bill Belichick isn’t revealing the coach who will be filling Josh McDaniels’ big shoes.
The Patriots formally announced their entire coaching staff and titles on Thursday, marking the first time Belichick has publicized the information since McDaniels’ left New England to become the head coach of the Raiders. The only issue is that Belichick did not declare an offensive or defensive coordinator.
“I’m not big on titles,” Belichick said in March. “We have jobs to do. We’ll do the jobs.”
Earlier this offseason, it looked as though the offensive coordinator title would fall upon either former Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia or former New York Giants head coach Joe Judge. The pair actively serve as the Patriots’ senior football adviser/offensive line coach and offensive assistant/quarterbacks coach, respectively.
Alas, the man in charge of organizing an intricate game plan and relaying the calls to second-year quarterback Mac Jones for now remains a mystery. Despite New England’s looming training camp, which is set to begin on Wednesday, Belichick doesn’t seem to be too concerned.
“We won’t be calling any [plays] for a while,” Belichick added in March. “Don’t have any games for a while.”
Patricia, Judge and Belichick remain the most likely suitors to fill the void and help develop Jones following the quarterback’s strong rookie campaign. Whether they’ll be able to place the young signal-caller in a position to succeed the way he did under McDaniels, however, remains to be seen.
Uncertainty remains on the other side of the ball as well. The Patriots did not announce who their defensive coordinator will be, with linebacker coaches Steve Belichick and Jerod Mayo likely to be considered for the role due to their past leadership positions.
Amid the confusion, at least New England knows who will be coordinating punts and kicks — Cam Achord will be returning as the head of the special teams unit.
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