Who's calling the plays? What Patriots players have to say about Matt Patricia as the front-runner

FOXBORO — If you want to hear a range of emotional responses, ask someone about Matt Patricia coaching the Patriots' offense.

Talk to fans around New England and they are likely to be nervous about a former defensive coordinator replacing longtime offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Ask those in Detroit and they probably would laugh after Patricia had a record of 13-29-1 as the head coach of the Lions.

If you ask those inside Gillette Stadium, however, you’ll hear players on the Patriots' offense gush about Patricia’s knowledge of the defensive side of the ball. This offseason, the Patriots' new offensive line coach and the front-runner to call offensive plays uses his defensive IQ to teach offensive players how to beat their defensive foes by teaching them what will happen on a particular play before the ball is snapped.

Head coach Bill Belichick’s decision to hand his offensive keys — partly — to Patricia just might be his most controversial decision since his choice to sit cornerback Malcolm Butler in Super Bowl LII. There’s a lot on the line, including the development of second-year quarterback Mac Jones, which is why this unique coaching decision understandably could make Patriots fans uneasy.

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That being said, offensive players in Foxboro are saying all the right things about their new coach.

“I think coach Belichick has done a great job kind of explaining exactly what we’re going to do as an offense," Jones said after the first day of training camp on Wednesday. "Matty P has seen so many different defenses, along with coach Belichick, so they combine their knowledge of how to attack the defense. That’s something that really stood out to me.

"They're great guys — and coach [Joe] Judge — they all bring different energy to the room when they’re presenting. They’re all trying to get us to work together and that’s the most important part, we’re all on the same page regardless of who is talking, who’s making the decision on the play. It’s always an open conversation, which I love.”

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As Jones noted, Patriots' offensive meetings are being run by Belichick, Patricia and Judge, who is the team’s new quarterbacks coach. This is a vast departure from the Foxboro norm, which saw McDaniels run the entire offense for the last 10 seasons before leaving to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.

The multiple voices talking to the offense sound like a recipe for disaster. After all, more voices theoretically could lead to confusion.  Players on the offense said, however, that that hasn’t been the case this offseason. Jones noted that the three coaches have a good rhythm both in the classroom and the practice field.

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On top of that, the second-year quarterback has more say in the offense.

“You want to listen to the good coaching you can get from three coaches who all have been head coaches,” Jones said. “They’ve seen a ton, a ton of football and that’s what I’m trying to take in — what is something each one of them say in a meeting that I can take — whether it’s about life or football and then apply it to the game.

"They bring a different perspective, but I feel like they’re all listening to the players — ‘Hey, we kind of like this concept.’ ‘All right, let’s try it.’ Or if they want to put in something else, they explain the why and that’s the important part for me — understanding why we’re doing something.”

Although Belichick hasn’t announced who the offensive play caller will be, all signs point to Patricia.

On Wednesday, Patricia could be seen using a walkie-talkie to relay plays to Jones and the Patriots' quarterbacks. At one point, during 7-on-7 drills, he left his offensive linemen with assistant coach Billy Yates to go over to the drill and call those plays. During 11-on-11s, it was Patricia on the walkie-talkie while Judge stood behind the huddle.

Jones said he didn’t think who was calling the play was a big deal.

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“Regardless of who is telling you what the play is — you just listen to the formation, the play and then execute the play. There is a rhythm to it,” Jones said. “They all have good rhythm in the meetings and talking through the plays, ‘All right, you start here and then go here’ type of thing. We’re in there having a good conversation, which is important. At the end of the day, we take the coaching they’re giving to us whether that’s fundamentals or scheme or reads and we apply it out here. That’s what we have to do more consistently.”

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Patricia isn't new to offense. He played center and guard as a youth and in college at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. When he got into coaching, he was an offensive graduate assistant at Syracuse (2001-2003) and worked on offense when he first arrived in Foxboro as an offensive assistant (2004) and assistant offensive line coach (2005).

Of course, New Englanders best recognize the 47-year-old coach as the Patriots' longtime defensive coordinator. He held the official title from 2012-2017 and, since leaving to coach the Lions, Belichick has yet to give anyone that title. With Patricia as the defensive coordinator, the Patriots won two Super Bowls.

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Patricia’s experience on defense is what offensive players say has been so beneficial.

“I think it’s a cool thing that we get to see it from another perspective,” tackle Trent Brown said. “Him working on the defensive side of the ball for so long, we get to know the who, what, when, where, why and not just the X’s and O’s. I think that’s the coolest part about it.”

“Run blocking — knowing what the defense is doing," receiver Kendrick Bourne said. "Knowing pressures, stuff like that. Just coverages, man. They really know coverages. Even having Bill over there. They really know defense very well. They’re teaching us and showing us what the defense is going to do before we even see it. It’s just a tip to our offense and I know it’ll make us better this year.”

After he was fired in Detroit, Patricia returned to Foxboro last season as a senior football adviser. As was the case when he was in New England before, Patricia has good relationships with the players around him. Bourne said they grew close last year and appreciates Patricia’s energy and approach.

“He just comes up to me, teases me like, ‘You ain’t got no juice today?’ or ‘You’re not feeling it today?’ Things like that,” Bourne said. “Just trying to mess around, mess with your mind. It’s just like a sneaky challenge. Even if you have energy, he’ll still come up to you. It’s little things like that. We have fun with it. It just helps get you going.”

If Patricia ends up calling plays this season, it will be controversial. If it works, it will be another tip of the cap to Belichick and a reminder to all of us just how smart this legendary coach is. If it fails, people will pile on.

Either way, it’ll be another fascinating season in Foxboro. 

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Patriots play-caller: Matt Patricia taking lead on offensive side