There is little doubt that the coaching woes the Patriots experienced in 2022 were the biggest problem the team encountered as they missed the playoffs for the second time in three years.

The dysfunction displayed by the Patriots this past season was unlike anything we have seen from the Patriots in decades. The problems were as clear as day. Week after week, the Patriots exposed themselves as an undisciplined, unorganized, and uninspiring bunch. At times, it even felt unhinged.

In last Thursday’s Boston Herald, Andrew Callahan and Karen Guregian outlined the shortcomings of the Patriots coaching staff with their story, “Inside the most dysfunctional season under Bill Belichick.” The eye-opening report peeled back the curtain and revealed what we could all see from the outside: a disastrous coaching staff driving a once-proud football team into the ground.

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  Aug 11, 2022; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick watches the field as senior football advisor Matt Patricia (white cap) and offensive assistant Joe Judge work during the first half of a preseason game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

• The chronicles of Bill, Joe, and Matty P read more like the chronicles of Moe, Larry, and Curley. How Belichick believed that the obviously unqualified Joe Judge and Matt Patricia were the right choices to lead the offense is beyond comprehension. That decision was the impetus behind a wasted season of Patriots football.

  But the coaching staff is not solely to blame for this mess. The players deserve their fair share of criticism too.

  Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan.

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  FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – JANUARY 01: Mac Jones #10 of the New England Patriots looks on before a game Miami Dolphins at Gillette Stadium on January 01, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Getty Images)

• Patriots players have largely avoided public condemnation for their play last season. Judge and Patricia were a built-in excuse for a Patriots offense that was among the worst in the league. The Herald report may have been a damning indictment of Patricia and Judge, but it also once again shielded the players from blame for their role in last year’s debacle.

  The lasting images of the 2022 Patriots will be Mac Jones’ public outbursts against his coaches on the field and on the sideline. Did you have a personal favorite? How about Buffalo? Perhaps Las Vegas? Maybe Arizona? Jones never hesitated from airing his dirty laundry on national television, making clear his dissatisfaction with his coaches and the way the Patriots offense was functioning.

  But Jones’ public displays of emotion also helped control the narrative. It wasn’t his fault he was playing poorly. It was their fault.

  In reality, both parties are to blame. Jones’ coaches were bad at their jobs. He was bad at his job, too.

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  LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 18: Mac Jones #10 of the New England Patriots reacts after a penalty against the Las Vegas Raiders during the first half of the game at Allegiant Stadium on December 18, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

• Many in Fort Foxboro are quick to pass the blame buck to Judge and Patricia, as the Callahan and Guregian story details. But it’s important to remember that the players benefit from every story about coaching ineptitude. It absolves them of any responsibility for last season’s failures.

  Judge and Patricia didn’t lateral the ball to Chandler Jones in Vegas, nor did they fumble against Cincinnati on Christmas Eve. They didn’t pass block, throw interceptions, or miss assignments. Belichick has often said that players win games, and he’s right. But players also lose games too, and the 2022 Patriots were no different, no matter how bad the coaching was.

  Patricia and Judge are slow-moving targets and it’s easy for us to pile on them for their missteps. But the good news is they won’t be back next season, at least in their same roles. However, the players largely will return in the same capacity, and we’ll find out quickly if 2022 was indeed all Matty P and Hardo Joe’s fault, as some want to suggest.

  Blame Bill Belichick, Matt Patricia, and Joe Judge all you want for the failures in Foxboro. Just don’t forget to assign some blame to the players, too.

• Click here for complete New England Patriots coverage at 985TheSportsHub.com.

  Matt McCarthy is an on-air host at 98.5 The Sports Hub and regular contributor at 985TheSportsHub.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattMcCarthy985 and read all of his content here.

NEXT: Bill Belichick Reportedly Moonlighted As Patriots’ Play-Caller

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