It’s not exaggeration to proclaim Mac Jones the most important figure in the world of Patriots football these days.
Jones’ future – both short and long term – is New England’s future.
So it’s somewhere between strange and horrifying that at this early point on the 2022 offseason there is little light shed on who, exactly, will be coaching, molding and calling plays for Jones as he tries to make the ever critical Year 2 jump in his sophomore NFL season.
Bill Belichick’s coaching staff obviously took a hit when longtime offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels fled Foxborough to become head coach of the Raiders. McDaniels also brought former Patriots wide receivers coach Mick Lombardi, offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo and assistant quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree with him to Las Vegas.
McDaniels inarguably did a top-notch job developing, guiding and cajoling Jones in rookie season in which the No. 15 overall pick beat out Cam Newton, started all 17 regular season games, led New England to the playoffs and earned a spot in the Pro Bowl.
It was another feather in McDaniels’ flight-worthy cap from years leading the New England offense.
So, now what? What’s the plan to keep Jones moving in the right direction? To keep the Patriots offense at the high level it’s been for the bulk of Belichick’s time in New England?
Great questions, ones that Belichick has yet to come close to answering. Questions he may not answer at all until observational analysis come OTAs, mini-camp and training camp hones in on who’s working with Jones most closely and who’s wearing a headset to call plays throughout summer practice action.
One rather familiar if potentially curious and even mildly distasteful name that’s been thrown into the coaching mix is newly minted offensive assistant Joe Judge. Yes, Judge is indeed the failed Giants head coach who formerly ran New England’s special teams units but also double-dipped as wide receivers coach for the Patriots out of need for one season in 2019. To say he has limited experienced, expertise and background on offense would accurate.
Other familiar names bandied about as possible options for the offense and Jones include current Alabama offensive coordinator and former Patriots assistant Billy O’Brien – aka the perfect fit -- and former Jets and Dolphins offensive-minded head coach Adam Gase. So far, though, those guys seem to be media and fan speculation and little more than that.
But lost in all the debate of the familiar and debatable names is a potential answer to all the questions about the Patriots offensive coaching staff that’s right before our eyes.
There is only one returning position coach on the Patriots offensive coaching staff.
His name is Nick Caley.
Sure, Caley is probably virtually unknown to most non-Patriots fans and less than familiar to even many New England fans.
But that doesn’t mean he’s not an option. Doesn’t mean he might not be the man for the job. Be the man by Jones’ sideline side next fall.
Caley has been an assistant in New England on Belichick’s staff for the last seven seasons. He’s been the Patriots tight ends coach for the last five years.
In that role he’s seen the McDaniels-led offense inside and out. Tight ends are involved in every aspect of the offense, from pass protection and routes to run blocking and ground-game schemes. He’s worked with Hall of Fame talent like Rob Gronkowski, youngsters like Devin Asiasi and talented newcomers like Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith. He’s led a group that worked with the greatest QB of all time, a one-year veteran fill-in who needed the offense tailored to his limitations and a rookie trying to find a way in the world of professional football.
In many ways, Caley has seen it all in his recent developments as an assistant coach.
Has he ever personally coached a quarterback? Nope
Has he ever called plays in an NFL game? Nope.
But neither have any of the other on-the-staff options for the job at this point.
And neither had McDaniels before he took over as the unfamiliar, unproven Patriots play-caller when Charlie Weis left the early days of the Dynasty to become head coach at Notre Dame after the 2004 season.
People tend to forget that before he was calling plays for Tom Brady leading one of the greatest offenses football had ever seen, before he was the Broncos head coach, before he returned to New England to rebuild his career and before he got a second chance to roll the dice in Sin City, McDaniels was a little known assistant out of little known John Carroll University.
Exactly like Caley.
Maybe Caley isn’t the experienced, familiar offensive coach and Jones’ whisperer many of us wanted. But maybe he’s the guy Belichick – who’s tended to successfully promote from within over the years with young, inexperienced coaches like McDaniels, Eric Mangini, Matt Patricia and Brian Flores -- believes Jones needs. Or at the very least he might be the best, most qualified option Jones gets at this point.
Regardless, Nick Caley is a name we all need to learn and maybe a guy we’ll all need to learn to respect when it comes to the Patriots offense and coaching Jones into the prime of his Patriots career.
