When the New England Patriots lost Joe Judge to the New York Giants — the 38-year-old was hired as the team’s new head coach — they were left with two vacancies on their coaching staff: Judge had coached not just the Patriots’ special teams units but, in 2019, also their wide receivers. While his role in the kicking game is expected to be filled by his former assistant Cam Achord, the other position remains unoccupied for the time being.
One potential candidate, however, can already be eliminated from the list of potential successors: former Patriots wide receivers coach Chad O’Shea will not return to New England, where he coached the position between 2009 and 2018. As first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, after all, the 47-year-old has decided to join the Cleveland Browns as their new wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator.
O’Shea left the Patriots last offseason to work as the Miami Dolphins’ offensive coordinator. He was let go again after just one season, however, and his time in New England made him a prime candidate to take over Judge’s role within the offense. With him no longer available, though, the team will have to look elsewhere — de facto assistant coach Troy Brown and former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Mike Groh appear to be among the options.