Bill Belichick Doesn't Name OC or DC on Patriots Staff Ahead of 2022 Season

The New England Patriots will not have an offensive or defensive coordinator for the 2022 season, the team announced Thursday.

The Patriots have not had a defensive coordinator since the 2018 season, while former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels left this offseason to take the Las Vegas Raiders' head coaching job.

The Patriots also went without coordinators under Belichick during the 2010 campaign.

"I'm not big on titles," Belichick said in March when initially revealing his plan to forgo the offensive/defensive coordinator titles.

Belichick has been mum on who will handle the play calling. Steve Belichick, Bill's son, has been the primary defensive play caller since Brian Flores left the team after the 2018 campaign. Steve Belichick, who serves as the team's outside linebackers coach, will likely continue in his capacity as play caller.

Matt Patricia, Joe Judge and Nick Caley have been mentioned as potential candidates to handle the offensive side of the ball. Jeff Howe of The Athletic reported last month that Patricia, formerly the Patriots' defensive coordinator from 2012 to 2017, is the favorite to handle offensive play calling.

The Patriots are moving into a critical season for their offensive core, as Mac Jones looks to build on a solid rookie season and establish himself as a true franchise quarterback. It's almost certain everyone behind the scenes knows how the hierarchy of command will go; it's not like Belichick is going to have a coordinator battle during the preseason to decide his offensive play caller.

As it stands, this is little more than some gamesmanship from a coach who famously loves to keep information about his team as private as possible.