In the past few seasons, we have seen Tom Brady and Josh McDaniels leave the New England Patriots to go elsewhere. With that and the addition of Matt Patricia and Mac Jones, the Patriots are ready for a new offense.
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2 seasons ago, storied legend Tom Brady left the New England Patriots for sunnier Tampa Bay. With that was the end of the Tom Brady era in New England. After a season of Cam Newton, the Patriots drafted Mac Jones for the future.
After coaching for Jones for a year, long time offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels also followed suit by leaving. He was then hired as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. With mainstays of the Patriots’ offense leaving, it was time for a new offense.
The changes started last year when they Patriots spent a then-record $160 million on free agency (the Jaguars broke that record this year) by bringing in players like Jonnu Smith, Hunter Henry, Kendrick Bourne, and Nelson Agholor.2
After McDaniels exited, Belichick inexplicably brought in former defensive coordinator and failed head coach Matt Patricia to lead the offense. Additionally, former special teams coach and also failed head coach Joe Judge was named the quarterbacks coach.
With such odd hirings, the direction of the offense and development of Mac Jones remains a question.
During 11 on 11, it became apparent what the changes to the offense were, different than the Tom Brady era
To keep up with the changing NFL, it seems that Patricia installed ideologies and concepts from the West Coast offense. This is surprising as the West Coast offense is a complex offense to run and requires talented personnel.
Currently, only the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, and Green Bay Packers are successfully running the offense. All 3 teams are uber talented on offense and are regular contenders for a Super Bowl.
Additionally, all 3 are disciples of Mike Shanahan. The elder Shanahan perfected the West Coast offense with the 49ers and Broncos in the 90s. Later on, his son Kyle Shanahan, Matt LaFleur, and Sean McVay were all his assistants on the Washington Redskins. They picked up the offense first hand from the guru.
It will certainly be interesting to see Patricia run the West Coast offense. A coach with almost no offensive experience is tasked with running a complex offense with an offense that has almost no playmakers.
This seems like a recipe for disaster but Bill Belichick might be onto something once again.
