New England Patriots: Is Matt Patricia the Defensive Coordinator of the Future?

Last week, the New England Patriots announced that they had given linebackers coach Matt Patricia the title of safeties coach.

The hope seems to be that he can get the level of production out of his safeties that he got out of some unheralded linebackers.

But perhaps the hope runs a bit deeper than that. Could the Patriots be setting up Matt Patricia to be the next defensive coordinator?

It may not be a move that would make Vince Wilfork happy, who has vocally endorsed defensive line coach Pepper Johnson for the coordinator job.

The way the Patriots work, though, is to home grow their own coaching talent. They don't like to have an extensive staff with a full roster of position coaches and such.

They'd much rather have one figurehead from whom the instruction comes.

And Patricia seems to be the right man for the job in many regards. NESN.com's Jeff Howe writes, "[Patricia] is very well-respected by his players, and they love his football mind and coaching ability..."

Now coaching the safeties, having already coached the linebackers, Patricia will be versed in two levels of the defense by 2011's end. The safeties as a group underperformed last year and whether that was a coaching gaffe or a personnel issue remains to be seen, this latest move should shed some light on the matter.

One great example of his work is Jerod Mayo.

Of course, he was the 10th overall pick in the draft and is incredibly talented and athletic. Undoubtedly, his position (RILB) is in part to thank for his high total in tackles.

But for the past five years and the first three years of Mayo's career, Patricia has been his guide in developing Mayo into one of the most fundamentally sound linebackers in football.

Their relationship culminated when Mayo led the league in tackles and was voted to his first Pro Bowl and All Pro teams this year.

Now, he will have the chance to work with two talented players who have yet to reach their fullest potential: Brandon Meriweather and Patrick Chung. Meriweather had one of the worst seasons of his career last year, but he has shown the potential to play at a high level.

Chung, on the other hand, didn't play much in his rookie year and was inconsistent in his sophomore outing. He, too, was great in spots and could be a fixture at safety for awhile if he realizes his potential.

The potential that they display is the same potential which Jerod Mayo had from the very beginning. But Mayo had something those two haven't had—Matt Patricia as their coach and mentor.

Could the two young, promising safeties benefit as greatly from the tutelage of Patricia as Mayo did?

Regardless, the table seems to be set for Matt Patricia to take over the defense very soon.