Bill Belichick Addresses Patriots’ Shared Play-Calling Duties

With Josh McDaniels now the head coach in Las Vegas, the Patriots have delegated offensive coordinator duties to Matt Patricia and Joe Judge. Neither Patricia and Judge, who returned to New England after failed head coaching stints elsewhere, have worked much with offenses in their careers, let alone called plays.

During New England’s first preseason game, Patricia began the game as the primary play-caller, with Judge taking over to finish the game. Specifically, Judge called plays for rookie quarterback Bailey Zappe after Patricia handled play-calling for the other quarterbacks.

Coach Bill Belichick said he just wanted to give both coaches an opportunity in the first game.

“Thought it would be a good opportunity for us to do that,” Belichick said, via NBC Sports Boston’s Phil Perry.

Additionally, the Patriots head coach said he hasn’t decided who will call plays this year yet.

“We’re going through a process,” Belichick said.

The last time New England had an offensive play-caller other than McDaniels was in 2011 when Bill O’Brien held the role. As was the case when O’Brien left, Belichick chose to bring back familiar faces to fill the role, but the lack of offensive coaching experience makes this different than when he re-hired McDaniels in 2012. 

There is still about a month left before Week 1, so New England has time to sort out play-calling roles. But don’t expect Belichick to give any hints towards which way he is thinking.

• Patriots Country: Bill Belichick On Patriots Peculiar Play-Calling Strategy: 'We’re Going Through a Process'

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