Here’s what Bill Belichick said about Patriots play-calling at the start of OTAs
Belichick appeared to call plays for part of Monday's practice.
With the Patriots getting the first practice of organized team activities underway on Monday, it offered an early glimpse at one of the team’s major questions heading into the 2022 season.
Josh McDaniels’s departure has left uncertainty about who will call plays for New England. Two potential candidates for the role, assistant coaches Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, noted that the decision hasn’t been made yet when asked by reporters earlier in May.
Asked about the matter during Monday’s press conference prior to practice, Bill Belichick had a succinct response.
“When we get to it, we’ll get to it,” he explained.
“I’ve called them and I haven’t called them,” Belichick said of play-calling. “Other people have called them and haven’t called them. We’ll see.”
One reason why Belichick noted he wouldn’t answer the question was that most of the coaching being done at this point is simpler than play-calling. The team is focused on fundamentals, not necessarily whole offensive sequences.
“What plays are we calling? Minicamp plays?” Belichick replied when asked about the topic. “We’re going to coach the team, coach the players, get them ready to go. We’re going to game plan when we have to game plan, play calls, do all the things we need to do to compete in games. Right now, we’re months away from that.”
Still, since reporters were present Monday, it didn’t escape notice that it appeared to be Belichick himself calling plays in the 11 vs. 11 drills. Whether or not the longtime Patriots coach continues in that role remains to be seen.