Belichick: 'Blame me' if Judge, Patricia fail as offensive play-callers
If the New England Patriots' offense struggles this season under first-time offensive play-callers Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, head coach Bill Belichick says his assistants won't deserve the blame.
"I think they're both good coaches," Belichick recently told the Boston Globe, according to Pro Football Talk's Michael David Smith. "Ultimately, it's my responsibility, like it always is. So, if it doesn't go well, blame me."
Belichick has been strongly criticized for replacing Josh McDaniels with Patricia and Judge instead of hiring a new offensive coordinator. Patricia previously coached the Detroit Lions after serving as New England's defensive coordinator from 2012-17. Judge was the Patriots' special teams coordinator between 2015 and 2019 before coaching the New York Giants over the past two seasons.
New England changed its offensive coaching staff this year after McDaniels left to become the Las Vegas Raiders' head coach. He helped the Pats win six Super Bowl titles while coordinating the offense for 13 seasons across two different stints.
"I don't see it any differently than it was in the last 22 years," Belichick added. "Look at our other offensive coordinators. We had Charlie (Weis). Then Josh. He'd never called offensive plays. Billy O'Brien (who succeeded McDaniels) never called plays in the NFL. Josh came back.
"We've changed coaches in every area, multiple times. Defensively, Matt Patricia had never called plays. Then he won a couple of Super Bowls. Brian Flores (who succeeded Patricia) had never called plays. That worked out all right."
Belichick added: "We have plenty of coaches that didn't have previous experience, and it's worked out pretty well with most of them, but not all of them."
Led by second-year quarterback Mac Jones, New England's offense reportedly struggled during training camp and preseason.
The Patriots kick off their 2022 season against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.