Report: Joe Judge and Matt Patricia expected to work with Patriots’ quarterbacks and offensive line, respectively

With Josh McDaniels now head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, his former team is forced to reshuffle its offensive staff. Not only did McDaniels’ departure leave the New England Patriots without their long-time offensive coordinator, he also took three assistant coaches with him to Las Vegas.

How all of them will be replaced remains to be seen. The early belief, however, is that Joe Judge and Matt Patricia will play a prominent role in this transformation process.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, after all, Judge and Patricia are expected to work with the quarterback position and offensive line, respectively:

[B]oth of whom figure into the equation of replacing McDaniels. As it stands now, Judge is expected to work with the quarterbacks, and Patricia with the line, and each will do so without much experience having coached offense before they became head coaches over the last few years (Judge came up working with the special teams, Patricia on defense). Which, obviously, is a dice roll given the critical point that Mac Jones is at. (For what it’s worth, I’ve heard the Patriots haven’t so much as talked to Adam Gase about their OC opening, and things have been quiet on the Bill O’Brien front as well.)

Judge, who was brought back this offseason after an unsuccessful two-year tenure as head coach of the New York Giants, primarily coached special teams during his first stint in New England (2012-19). He did work as the Patriots’ wide receivers coach during the 2019 season alongside his kicking game duties, but left for New York the following year. Judge’s official title upon his return is that of offensive assistant.

Patricia, meanwhile, served as a senior football advisor in 2021. Previously, he worked as New England’s defensive coordinator (2012-17) and head coach of the Detroit Lions (2018-20). His experience on offense comes from one season as an offensive assistant in 2004 and another as assistant offensive line coach the following year.

Judge and Patricia are well-respected within the organization, but their coaching experience on the offensive side of the ball can best be described as “limited.” Accordingly, it would not be a surprise if their eventual roles this year are more focused on assisting others rather than conventional positional work.

The Patriots’ open spots — offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, wide receivers coach, offensive line coach — will obviously not be filled by Judge and Patricia alone. Nonetheless, it appears the two might just be involved with most of them this season.