Former Patriots Coach Catches Ricochet Shot From Matt Patricia

Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots tried a unique experiment during the 2022 season with Matt Patricia.

Patricia, who practically coached defense in his entire NFL coaching career including six seasons as New England’s defensive coordinator from 2012-17, moved to the offensive side of the ball as an offensive line coach and was trusted by Belichick with play-calling duties.

But Patricia failed miserably in that endeavor and the Patriots paid the price.

New England’s offense was dysfunctional at times with Patricia guiding things and the development of second-year quarterback Mac Jones was severely stunted — something Jones never recovered from.

Patricia’s stint coaching the Patriots offense — it ended up being Patricia’s last season with New England — was brought up when he made the rounds ahead of Super Bowl LIX and joined “Barstool Live” with Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy and former NFL head coach Jon Gruden. Patricia danced around questions about why he coached on offense that season and ended up throwing a former Patriots coach under the bus.

“That was interesting, right? That was definitely interesting,” Patricia said. “But I do think, though — I’m just going to say this. I don’t think it was better the next year, right? So, maybe we can let me off the hook here a little bit?”

It feels like Patricia takes a shot at Bill O’Brien with his answer. O’Brien took over as New England’s offensive coordinator the season following Patricia.

But Patricia is right. O’Brien didn’t have the answers for New England’s inept offense, either, as the Patriots were tied for last in the NFL with 13.9 points per game in 2023. But in O’Brien’s defense, he was handed a broken Jones because of Patricia. O’Brien ended up lasting just one season in that role — it was a quick second stint with the Patriots — and he went on to become the head coach at Boston College.

It will be interesting to see how O’Brien, whose nickname was “Teapot” for his angry outbursts, takes that comment from Patricia. The two served on New England’s coaching staff for five seasons together.

O’Brien probably won’t take kindly to it as Patricia should have just owned up to things not going well when he called offensive plays for the Patriots.