Bill Belichick had clear opinion on Matt Patricia situation last season
Matt Patricia took much of the blame for the offense's poor performance last season. So it seemed bringing in Bill O'Brien was the clear and unanimous decision. But that actually wasn't the case at all. According to the Boston Herald, Belichick wanted to keep Patricia. However, it was Kraft who pushed for the coaching change […]
Matt Patricia took much of the blame for the offense's poor performance last season.
So it seemed bringing in Bill O'Brien was the clear and unanimous decision. But that actually wasn't the case at all.
According to the Boston Herald, Belichick wanted to keep Patricia. However, it was Kraft who pushed for the coaching change and Belichick ultimately gave in.
Mac Jones had a standout rookie season, but showed a serious decline in his second year. And people said that was Patricia's fault. However, in his third year under O'Brien, things have only gotten worse for the quarterback, with him ultimately being benched in favor of Bailey Zappe.
Going into the season, O'Brien was thought to be the savior, able to restore this offense to greatness. The players had absolute confidence in what he could do.
But the offensive performance this season is even worse than last year.
Yet, some of that is not the fault of O'Brien, who has had to work with the lack of talent around him.
But regardless, it seems if Belichick had his way, Patricia would still be in New England rather than with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Patricia began his tenure with the Patriots in 2004 as an offensive assistant, but moved to the defensive side in 2006. He remained there, working his way to become the defensive coordinator for the team from 2012 to 2017.
In 2018, he left to take the head coaching position for the Detroit Lions, but that didn't last long and he returned to the Patriots in 2022.
Together, Patricia and Belichick went on to win three Super Bowl championships together. So it makes sense why Belichick wanted to keep Patricia, with the two working so well together in previous years.
