All offseason, there has been speculation about who will call offensive plays for the New England Patriots when the 2022 season begins. With former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels moving on to a new role as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders and most of the natural replacements no longer with the Patriots organization, it's been a mystery as to how the job will be done.
The Pats did not list an official offensive coordinator on their team website, but throughout the summer it's become clearer that either former Pats defensive coordinator and Lions head coach Matt Patricia and/or former Pats special teams and wide receivers coach and Giants head coach Joe Judge will handle the play-calling duties in some fashion. During the team's first preseason game against those same Giants, it appeared that Patricia was calling the plays when Brian Hoyer and the first/second-team offense were on the field, while Judge called plays with the deeper backups.
As for what that might mean will happen when the regular season starts, Bill Belichick was predictably tight-lipped. "We're going through a process," Belichick said, per NFL.com. "Just like everything else on this team."
Pressed further, he didn't give much more of an explanation.
Reporter: You mentioned earlier with the offensive play caller you're going through a process. What do you need to see –
Belichick: "I don't need to see anything, just we're going through a process. Simple as that."
Reporter: It's just a little bit of an unusual situation for us that have watched you guys before –
Belichick: "What do you want me to do?"
Reporter: I guess we're just looking for a little clarity as to why we're seeing what we're seeing.
Belichick: "Great. Yeah. Going through a process."
It seems highly likely that Belichick won't give much more information than that, either throughout the rest of the preseason or even once the regular season gets under way. The team does not have an official defensive coordinator, either, and for a while did not confirm who was calling the defensive plays on game days. (In late 2020, Belichick seemingly confirmed that his son, linebackers coach Steve Belichick, was doing so.)
