A Clear-Cut Look At The Latest Patriots Coaching Staff Titles. Well The Lack Of Them.
Here is a quick dive into the Patriots coaching staff news that was just released. We are discussing Matt Patricia’s new role and other notable changes.
The long-awaited off-season inquiries on who would be coaching what within the Patriots coaching staff were finally answered. People have been debating on which coaches might be named Patriots offensive and defensive coordinators all off-season. But, unfortunately, I’m sure only a tiny minority of those people correctly predicted that the Patriots would announce they’ll be going into this season with neither of those coaching vacancies filled.
On Thursday, the Patriots dropped the highly anticipated news regarding the coaching staff titles for the upcoming season, and basically, everyone was surprised at the result. The conspiracy theories started to flow immediately, with many people siding along the idea that Bill Belichicks likely been working towards developing a new, league-altering revolutionary concept that other teams will be mimicking for decades to come.
It’s probably a little early to make that assumption, but I find it preferable to the theory that Belichick is losing his touch or his mind. Either seems possible, but if we’re going on track record alone, Bill Belichick is a man whose genius should never come into question.
Matt Patricia And His New Role As Senior Football Advisor
The plan announced this year isn’t unheard of, though, as the Patriots hadn’t named a defensive coordinator since Matt Patricia in 2017 before he had left for the Head Coaching job in Motor City. It has been 12 years since the last time we didn’t have an officially titled offensive coordinator. The coaching staff looks similar to previous years, with only a few additions, departures, and changes. Possibly the most significant change is Matt Patricia moving over to take on the o-line duty and being named a Senior Football Advisor.
So what is a “Senior Football Advisor” anyways? I had no idea either, but luckily one quick google search provides the following answer:
“He will provide strategic guidance on other matters, including playing rules, coaching techniques, and the development of football personnel, while also providing insight on the operation of the NFL Draft and Pro Bowl.”
So, in other words, an assistant coach of sorts? I’m sure there are some specific rules/specifications to the role. Still, it’s seemingly a very ambiguous title, and it’s not hard to imagine Belichick ten moves ahead on the chessboard with some absurdly specific reasoning for why he broke out Patricia’s Senior Football Advisor role this year.
Other Notable Changes/Additions/Departures
Other changes to the coaching staff include the departure of RB coach Ivan Fears, who will be replaced by his assistant from last year, Vinnie Sunseri.
Another one of the changes was regarding Ross Douglas, who had a coaching fellowship position on defense last year and will now be helping out Troy Brown with the WRs this year. This makes a lot of sense when you look at the Patriots ‘WRs. It’s a talented group, but any amount of added coaching and support seems ideal for a group that finished the 2021 season modestly as the 14th-ranked receiving offense.
There’s no doubt the team is seeking to improve on that. It’s a near-certainty that Mac Jones especially has his sights set on a top-ten offense this year as he does his best to follow in the footsteps of possibly the greatest quarterback of all time. Additionally, the Patriots seem to be taking extra steps in ensuring the development of their new young WR talent. On paper, the group has a ton of potential, and we shouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t the only move made in an attempt to improve specifically in that area.
Compared to last year, there aren’t that many changes to the defensive coaching staff. One notable difference was that Jerod Mayo and Steve Belichick had their inside and outside qualifier dropped from their titles and are now simply co-titled as linebacker coaches. The Patriots have recently emphasized drafting/obtaining hybrid players who can succeed at both inside and outside roles, which presumably was one of the main reasons for this change.
A new addition to the defensive coaching staff was also made in hiring V’Angelo Bentley to take over for Ross Douglas in a defensive coaching fellowship position. V’Angelo was a DB who played briefly for the Patriots and was most recently a coaching assistant at Penn State.
Complete List Of Patriots Coaching Staff
The 19 members of the coaching staff for this year and their position/title for the upcoming 2022 NFL season are as follows:
Nick Caley: Tight Ends
Ross Douglas: Wide Receivers/NFL Coaching Fellowship
Tyler Hughes: Offensive Assistant
Joe Judge: Offensive Assistant/Quarterbacks
Matt Patricia: Senior Football Adviser/Offensive Line
Evan Rothstein: Offensive Assistant
Billy Yates: Assistant Offensive Line
Vinnie Sunseri: Running Backs
Jerod Mayo: Linebackers
Steve Belichick: Linebackers
Deron Mayo: Strength and Conditioning Assistant
DeMarcus Covington: Defensive Line
Moses Cabrera: Head Strength and Conditioning
Joe Houston: Special Teams Assistant
V’Angelo Bentley: NFL Coaching Fellowship/Defense
Brian Belichick: Safeties
Cam Achord: Special Teams Coordinator
Conclusion
Changes were made, but it’s hard to say if they were significant changes or not until we see how the upcoming season pans out. Bill was adamant much earlier in the offseason that he would not be naming a defensive or an offensive coordinator, and he stuck to his word. If this is indeed all part of some grand scheme or strategy, you can surmise that it’s an idea Bill Belichick has been kicking around for a while now based on his consistent responses to interview questions regarding the topic.
Does Bill have something up his sleeve that could change the league forever? It’s hard to tell, but if people think he might, it’s certainly within the realm of possibility. Admittedly, the changes to the coaching staff weren’t the first of their kind, but you can theorize that these kinds of decisions are rare enough to the point where they’re probably only made with concrete goals in mind. But, of course, which goals are a topic for debate among NFL and Patriots fans everywhere because I doubt even the 19 names listed above know exactly what’s going on in the mysterious football mind of arguably the greatest coach in NFL history.
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