New England Patriots: 5 viable offensive coordinators for 2023
By Colin Lynch
The 2022 NFL season has been an up-and-down season for the New England Patriots.
The highs consist of winning 5 of 6 in October and into November. The lows consist of horrible late-game losses, including possibly the wildest regular season loss on an inexplicable final play in Las Vegas. But one constant that has remained steady throughout the season is the offense’s complete ineptitude and lack of explosiveness or creativity.
The Patriots rank in the bottom half of the league in almost every major offensive category, including total yards, yards per game, points per game, and red zone scoring, where they rank dead last.
It’s certainly not a foregone conclusion that any change will be made because Bill Belichick is entirely unpredictable. But just about anyone can see changes that need to be made, so let’s look at some realistic options for 2023.
Options from outside the New England Patriots organizational tree: Frank Reich
I’m starting with Frank Reich because, in my opinion, he is absolutely the best option, and I’d really love for the idea to pick up steam. He’s not an obvious frontrunner because he is an outsider and doesn’t belong to the Bill Belichick family coaching tree. But that should not matter.
Reich has been excellent with young quarterbacks and has a history of helping turn around sluggish offenses and bringing them to the top half of the league in points scored. Reich was the offensive coordinator in Philadelphia when they drafted Carson Wentz in 2016.
Reich guided Wentz and the Eagles to finish 16th in points thatseason. In 2017, in just his second year, Wentz was the frontrunner for MVP before getting hurt.
The Eagles finished third in points that season and Frank Reich plugged Nick Foles into the offense, and they didn’t skip a beat. They marched to the Super Bowl, where they torched Belichik’s defense for 41 points on 373 passing yards from Foles and 538 total yards.
Foles was named Super Bowl MVP. In 2018 Reich was named the Head Coach of the Indianapolis Colts and led them to finish 5th in the NFL in points. After the sudden retirement of Andrew Luck following the 2018 season Reich still led first-year starter and former Patriot Jacoby Brissett and the Colts’ offense to finish 16th in points.
In 2019, Reich brought on Philip Rivers to play QB, and the Colts again finished in the top 10 in points. In 2020, the Colts finished 9th in points scored with Carson Wentz, proving that Frank can make his offense work with various skill sets and players at the QB position. He’s a phenomenal offensive mind with an excellent track record. He’s a former NFL QB and is a true QB coach. I don’t think there is a better option in 2023 for the Patriots QB room and this struggling New England offense.