If you were expecting Patriots head coach Bill Belichick to provide some clarity about the roles of New England’s offensive staff on the first day of OTAs — why?
Last week, Joe Judge confirmed that he’s been working with quarterbacks, though he was quick to add that he’s also been working with all of the skill positions. Matt Patricia confirmed he’s been working with the team’s offensive line.
But beyond that? Belichick provided no answers as to who will call New England’s offensive plays, saying the team is a long way away from making that decision.
“There’s a lot of jobs that we have to do and we’re all working on those things,” Belichick said in his press conference. “Now, it’s May. They’ll change in June. They’ll change in August. They’ll change in September. So, we’ll evolve and do the things timely that we need to do.
“Now, if you’re asking about game plans, we’re months away from that — months.”
Belichick admitted a play-caller would need a certain period of time to get ready for the season. Though he wouldn’t say when that would start, it doesn’t seem to be late May.
“What plays are we calling? Minicamp plays?” Belichick said, scoffing. “We’re going to coach the team, coach the players, get them ready to go. We’re going to game plan when we have to game plan, play calls, do all the things we need to do to compete in games. Right now, we’re months away from that.”
Belichick also said he’s called plays and not called them, so that’s apparently another option for the Patriots.
Either way, Belichick isn’t saying when the team will either officially or unofficially have an offensive play-caller for 2022.
“When we get to it, we’ll get to it,” Belichick said.