Speculation has been rampant recently that former Patriots defensive coordinator and Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia would become the Patriots primary offensive play caller in 2022.

Now before you get up, walk over to your bathroom and vomit, you might want to know that Patricia does have some “offensive experience” with the Patriots. He served as an offensive assistant in 2004 and as the assistant offensive line coach to Dante Scarnecchia in 2005. Now go ahead, feel free to vomit.

Patricia has a grand total of two years of offensive experience in the NFL and to be frank, it is not meaningful experience.

So why would Belichick entrust him with play calling duties? Simple. He trusts Patricia. Patricia is a smart guy who has been around the organization for a long time. He knows the system and in the end, that’s all that matters to Belichick.

Whether it’s Patricia, Josh McDaniels or Bill O’Brien, it’s all about the system. The system doesn’t change. The people who call plays do. As long as the system is in place, that is all that matters.

It is the same way at Alabama where Nick Saban uses a similar approach. It might not be popular with the fans, but it is hard to argue with the way Belichick and Saban operate when you consider how much success they have had.

While having this structure and a system in place makes sense, Patricia calling the plays would be a huge disappointment for Patriots fans. He has never called offensive plays at any level of football let alone the NFL. In Bill We Trust may not be enough for to convince Patriots fans that Patricia should be calling plays.

Of course Belichick has never cared what the fans think and nor should he. That being said, banking on Patricia being a smart guy and having institutional knowledge isn’t enough reason to make him the offensive coordinator.

It would be one thing if he were named the offensive line coach but to be the presumptive offensive play caller might just be a stretch.

In the end, the only thing that really matters is that Belichick is still the head coach of the Patriots. As long as he is still there, the Patriots will have a chance to be competitive. Despite that, Patriots fans were hoping someone else replace Josh McDaniels. Now it that it appears Patricia will be the primary play caller is disappointing.

It will be interesting to see how Belichick addresses this when he speaks to the media. My guess is, he will talk about the team and the importance of continuity. Patricia represents continuity. He is on staff and is a familiar face and voice to the players. That is what matters to Belichick. Not what a fan in Section 138, seat 20 thinks.