Back in his first stint with the New England Patriots, Matt Patricia was known for his defensive coaching. His outstanding success operating Bill Belichick’s defensive scheme and adding his own wrinkles to it led Patricia to great acclaim and his eventual position as the head coach of the Detroit Lions.
Now back in New England for a second season after failing miserably in three disastrous seasons running Detroit, Patricia is taking on a bigger role in the on-field product for Belichick. But it’s not on defense.
At the NFL owner’s meeting in Florida, Belichick declared that Patricia will be assisting recently fired Giants head coach Joe Judge in running the Patriots’ offense. Yes, offense. The defensive-oriented rocket scientist will help fill the shoes of new Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels as the Patriots’ offensive mastermind.
“We’ve had a lot of coaches take multiple responsibilities. Josh and Brian Daboll were on defense and went to offense,” Belichick said via Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal. “Matt was on offense and went to defense, so forth and so on. I’m not really worried about that. I think a good coach is a good coach. Matt’s a great coach. Joe’s a great coach. They’ll help us no matter what position they coach.”
Belichick won’t have an offensive coordinator, so it’s somewhat unclear exactly how much Patricia will do. The head coach also refused to say who will call the offensive plays. But it’s still quite a career turn for Patricia.
The former Lions headman was once an offensive lineman in college and coached the Patriots offensive line in 2004, so he does have familiarity with that side of the ball. But he’s made his career as a defensive whiz, even if that notion makes Lions fans spit out their coffee in bemused anger.
