During this morning’s Toucher & Rich program, The guys asked Evan Lazar from Patriots.com about the coaching responsibilities of the New England Patriots and the fact that Joe Judge is listed as just an assistant head coach and not in charge of anything specific. Lazar also noted that Jerod Mayo, despite not having a title change, seems to have taken on more responsibilities, such as being involved in scouting and interviews. Although he is not officially the defensive coordinator, it appears that he is being groomed for more significant roles within the coaching staff. As for Joe Judge, while his official title is assistant head coach, he is mainly seen working with special teams during practice. The conversation speculates that his experience lies in special teams, and it may be the best place for him to contribute within the team.
GLENDALE, ARIZONA – DECEMBER 12: Coach Jerod Mayo of the New England Patriots during the NFL game at State Farm Stadium on December 12, 2022 in Glendale, Arizona. The Patriots defeated the Cardinals 27-13. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Wallach: The Patriots finally listed coaching responsibilities last week, Evan. What are we to take from this? I found it interesting that Joe Judge is just an assistant head coach, not in charge of anything. And somehow Jerod Mayo is not the defensive coordinator here.
Fred Toucher: Yeah. Okay. If I can interject, it is just to add to what you just asked. Is Bill protecting someone by doing that?
Evan Lazar: I mean, just to answer the Jerrod Mayo part of it first. Mayo had told us when we talked to him, I think it was in May, right after the draft, that he wasn’t expecting a title change. He gave the whole spiel about how titles don’t really mean much in New England and that’s not really what they’re about. He had mentioned that they had opened some doors for him this offseason. Belichick had said that he hadn’t necessarily seen that side of things before. For instance, interviewing the offensive line coach candidates in the offensive coordinator candidates, he was in the room for those interviews and was a part of those interviews. He went out to Oregon and worked out Christian Gonzales in a private workout that none of us knew about until after the draft. So I think he had a little bit more of a hand in scouting, a little bit more of a hand and interviewing, and started doing some of the things that a head coach would do at that time of year.
So although there was no title change, I do think that there was a little bit more responsibility or at least opening that door to kind of seeing that world from Bill Belichick. We’ve heard Bill Belichick do things like that in the past with Josh McDaniels, for instance, where they kind of just open up the entire world to McDaniels and Mayo and show them the ropes of some of the different things that go into being a head coach. So although he didn’t get a title change, I do think that he’s somebody that they understand the value of in the building and is someone that is getting a little bit more responsibility behind the scenes, even if we don’t see it in terms of like a defensive coordinator title.
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick with Joe Judge during a preseason game at Gillette Stadium. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
Evan Lazar: With Joe Judge, I know his official title is assistant head coach. Honestly, when we were out there a couple of months ago, he looked like the special teams coordinator. He was working with the special teams exclusively out at practice. We heard obviously about the OTAs that they lost and who was in charge of that, which was a special teams-related thing. And just watching him bark orders at players and kind of lead special teams periods, it was Joe Judge So I think that still the on-field implication of Joe Judge still being here and where he’s going to be at most of the time that we see is going to be working with special teams. At the end of the day, if he’s going to have to be here, that’s probably the best place for him to be seeing where his most experience is. I still love him being here, to begin with, but if he asked to have a role on the staff and they want him in the building and they think it’s worth it, then obviously him working with special teams and being very far away from the offense is probably the best thing for everybody.
