The Matt Patricia rehabilitation tour is underway.
On Tuesday, new Broncos head coach Sean Payton gushed when he met with reporters at the NFL Combine, but his praise wasn’t directed towards the myriad of prospects preparing to run the 3-cone drill. Instead, Payton cooed over the much-maligned assistant coach, whom he curiously interviewed last week for Denver’s then-vacant defensive coordinator role.
the disgraceful Mac Jones smear campaign
“[Patricia] was — deep breath — outstanding,” Payton said. “I’ve known him for a long time. We’ve practiced against the Patriots. I think he’s extremely talented. He’s a guy that — I think they’ve won five Super Bowls while he was calling defenses. So that was easy. I knew right away I wanted to interview Matt.”
Those kind words would make a propagandist blush. First of all, the Patriots didn’t win five Super Bowls with Patricia as their defensive coordinator. But facts can’t get in the way of a good sell job.
Despite Payton’s assertion that he loves Patricia, he didn’t speak with Belichick’s loyal confidante until the final stages of the Broncos’ interview process. Denver announced it was re-hiring Vance Joseph as defensive coordinator one day after Patricia’s visit.
Payton told reporters he could still find a role for Patricia on his staff. “I wouldn’t rule that out,” he said. “If that possibly came to fruition, it would be for a few things. I’d certainly want to talk to Vance and our defensive coaches. But I know Matt well enough to know how smart he is and what he can contribute. So we’ll see.”
Surely, Patricia is a smart guy. He earned a degree in aeronautical engineering, after all. But his knowledge of applied mathematics and flight-capable machines haven’t helped him on the sidelines over the last several seasons. His final act as Patriots defensive coordinator came in Super Bowl LII, when they allowed 41 points to the Eagles in a crushing effort. Malcolm Butler was inexplicably benched, even though the Patriots’ porous defense made Nick Foles look like Peyton Manning.
After a disastrous tenure in Detroit — the Lions finished 13-29 under Patricia — he returned to Foxbrough in an opaque role. Then for some reason, Belichick entrusted him with the offense, and by extension, Mac Jones’ development. Unsurprisingly, it was a complete disaster.
Belichick’s gamble backfired, and now Patricia’s name is toxic. NBC Sports Boston’s Tom Curran said last week on WEEI that Patricia isn’t even with the Patriots anymore.
Now, Belichick must pick up his wounded protege. That’s where Payton comes into play. The two revered head coaches, both of whom sprouted from the Bill Parcells coaching tree, enjoy a close friendship.
“I mean I have a good friendship with Sean. We go back quite a ways,” said Belichick in 2016. “We’ve had a great working relationship, great professional relationship and a good personal relationship. So, I always appreciate his support. He has had ours, we’ve had his. You can’t say that about everybody but certainly he has been a good friend and a good supporter.”
In this case, supporting Belichick might also mean propping up Patricia. He needs a fresh start, and Payton could provide a landing spot.
“Matt’s a really good football coach who I have a ton of respect for,” said Belichick Tuesday to the Globe, even though he isn't speaking with reporters this week. “He’s helped us win a lot of games and championships with the Patriots.”
If you say something enough times, maybe it will come true.