Belichick agrees to changes on the offensive staff. What’s next?

Posted By on January 12, 2023



According to NBC Sports Boston’s Tom E. Curran, Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft have already met and that in that meeting, Belichick agreed that there needs to be changes made to the offensive staff.

The Patriots finished 2-5 down the stretch and the offense bore much of the responsibility for the team’s inability to score. It is no secret that Kraft was not happy with the performance of the offense and that he wanted changes to be made.

According to Curran, Belichick and Kraft are on the same page regarding the direction of the franchise for next season.

“THE MEETING, I am told, has happened. There is no impasse. The Patriots are on to 2023 with Belichick acknowledging 2022 wasn’t ideal and being amenable to changes.”

The fact that Belichick did not push back indicates that even he was acknowledging that it was not working with the current offensive staff, especially play caller Matt Patricia.

Despite Belichick’s acknowledgment that changes need to be made, he is not going to satisfy the masses according to Curran and fire the current staff or comment on their future.

“Don’t expect a dog-and-pony show announcing firings or who’s coming in for an interview. Belichick isn’t going to put anyone’s head on a spike for the pleasure of the masses. But my understanding is offensive coaching reassignments are going to happen and several offensive coaches are under consideration for the Patriots’ 2023 staff.”

I have never believed that Belichick would fire either Patricia or Judge. They are his guys. He developed them. He won’t fire them, he’ll just reassign them to somewhere else in the organization.

The most important thing that came out of the Belichick, Kraft meeting according to Curran is that Belichick didn’t need to be persuaded.

“One important facet of the meeting: Did Belichick need persuading to change course on offense or did he go in knowing changes were necessary? My understanding is that no persuading on the part of Kraft was necessary.”

That is important. It shows that Belichick understands the gravity of the situation and maybe, just maybe, it is an acknowledgment that he doesn’t have all the answers.

Either way, change is coming. We now know that. It is no longer just speculation.