Ex-Lions head coach Matt Patricia the favorite to call offensive plays for the Patriots

His new role with the Patriots has been broad and somewhat undefined, but Matt Patricia is now the reported favorite to call New England’s offensive plays.

As this offseason, his second back under Bill Belichick’s wing in New England, has gone on, former Lions head coach Matt Patricia has had a unique and somewhat undefined role. Input on personnel moves? Sure. Working with the offensive line, which he hadn’t done since 2005 with the Patriots? Sure.

The big question as it relates to the Patriots is who will be calling the offensive plays. Belichick? Joe Judge, who has said he is working closely with quarterback Mac Jones? Patricia?

According to Jeff Howe of The Athletic (subscription required), while Belichick has yet to make the decision, it’s “trending” toward Patricia being the one who’ll call the  plays.

Could Matt Patricia be a good offensive play caller?

At first blush, Lions fans and most (if not all) NFL fans will say there’s no way Patricia can be a capable offensive play caller. He’s never done it, and the side of the ball where his experience is rooted (defense) was an outright disaster during his time in Detroit. His last game as the Patriots’ defensive coordinator was also awful, making a Super Bowl MVP out of Nick Foles.

But on the other hand, Patricia spent a lot of years game-planning and making defensive calls against a wide variety of offenses. That would seem to give him a different angle on what works and what doesn’t, and perhaps inform how he’d call offensive plays.

It’s pretty clear New England wants to have an offense that tilts toward the run, which is fine. The skepticism about Patricia as an offensive mind isn’t going to go away, and Patriots’ players are set to fall down fantasy football draft boards (as if they weren’t already) now.

Assuming he gets and then still has the play calling duties at that point, the Lions will get an up-close look at how Patricia orchestrates an offense when they visit Foxboro in Week 5.