Thread by @bruceallen

THREAD.
THE PATRIOTS FILES
I have thoughts on the #Patriots. My thoughts, not what "sources close to" are saying or what "the sense inside the building" is, but what I think about what has happened and might happen.

1) Josh McDaniels absolutely gutted the offensive coaching staff last off-season. The local media cleverly referred to this as a "brain drain." This despite the fact they had spent a lot of time deriding the brains of the coaching staff.

What isn't clear is whether the departures were all approved, or if there was an attempt to retain any of the coaches who ended up leaving. McDaniels claimed that he had conversations with Belichick about each of these coaches, but it left the Patriots without the following:

Offensive coordinator, QBs coach, OL coach, and WR coach. Arguably the four most important positions on an offensive staff. Belichick has always been known for allowing his coaches to seek opportunities for advancement elsewhere. But was this also what was best for the team?

2) I think Belichick wanted to try and bring Bill O'Brien back last off-season, but B.O.B. didn't want to just leave Alabama after one season. Was there a tacit agreement to revisit things this coming off-season? He also didn't want to bring in an outsider to call plays.

I also don't think Belichick wanted to thrust someone like Nick Caley or Ross Douglas directly into the play-calling role, especially if the plan was to bring O'Brien back. So he put Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, who had both been NFL head coaches onto the O side of the ball.

The thinking here may have been to bring NFL coaching experience to that side of the ball, and try to shore things up for a year until a full-time OC could be brought in. The results haven't been great, but with 2 games to go they still have an outside shot at the playoffs.

3) I don't think putting Patricia and Judge on the O side was Belichick "rewarding his cronies" as some have insinuated. Is putting them in a no-win situation really "rewarding" them? He knew they could (and would) take the hits. He put them there for experience.

The issue this season hasn't been play-calling as much as it has been execution, spacing and penalties. This is unusual for a Patriots team, and to me, it shows the players aren't getting the fundamentals drilled into them as much as they might with coaches with more O experience

4) I think this off-season will see a lot of coach-shuffling. If Bill O'Brien comes on, I think Patricia reverts back to his "Sr Advisor" role. I could see Cam Achord getting reassigned, perhaps to a positional role (DBs?) That would allow Judge to go back to Special Teams.

On D, I think things are pretty solid there. Mayo is a head coach in waiting, and I really don't get the disdain for Steve Belichick. There are many assistant (and head) coaches in the NFL who are sons of NFL coaches. He's earned his spot, and he and Mayo work well together.

5) There will be a lot of roster turnover as well. I think McCourty and Slater retire, which is a huge locker-room loss. Other players I don't think will be back: Wynn, Agholar, Wilson, Harris, Trent Brown (despite being signed for 2023) One of J Smith/Henry. Folk. Jon Jones.

I don't know about Meyers. There will be plenty of cap space this spring, but do they invest big in him? Robert Kraft is a wildcard this off-season. He's publicly stated his impatience with the post-Brady era. Will he get more involved with personnel and coaching decisions?

6) I anticipate OL being a free agent and draft priority. A couple of big names were already re-signed by other teams, but this team needs help, especially at both tackle positions. It might not be sexy, but it will be the quickest way to improve the offense, along with coaching.

7) The Patriots really let down Mac with the OL and coaching this season. I don't know if they expected that he would be able to overcome the limitations of those areas, but it seems unfair if that was the case. Making improvements around Mac should be the story of the spring.

8) A lot of things need to be fixed, but they're not that far away from the playoffs. However, as Kraft has noted, merely making the playoffs is not the goal. To go beyond just making the playoffs, a lot needs to happen. Is everyone invested in making that happen?

I think they are. The 2023 off-season should be a busy one, and I'm interested to see how it all unfolds.