There's Reason to Think Belichick Has Found His Offensive Coordinator. In the Mirror.

Brian Kersey. Shutterstock Images.

The day may yet come where we're not talking about the indecipherable riddle that is the Patriots offensive coaching staff and who'll be sending the plays into Mac Jones.

But it is not this day. It's pretty obvious from any discussion that involves this team, no one can move on with their lives until we alleviate the concern over the identity of the as-yet-unnamed Mystery Man who will be covering his mouth with the Church Bulletin every Sunday. Which is the biggest concern of all the concerns:

And based on the few clues we've gotten so far after one day of practice with the media present, it might be time for our Scooby Gang to pull the mask off the Playcaller Phantom and reveal that he's really been the Grumpy Old Caretaker all along. This guy:

The first clue came in his first press conference where Belichick dismissed any talk about calling plays by pointing out (in case it had escaped anyone's attention) that this is May. That they're months away from planning the game plans of games. Then, just to drive the point further home, repeated the word "Months." 

But it's the last thing he added that was perhaps most revealing. "I've called plays. I've not called plays." Because at that aforementioned practice on Monday, he didn't call plays. Then he called plays. 

As Sports Illustrated described it:

As expected, [Joe] Judge and Jones worked together with the offensive for most of Monday’s practice. In fact, Judge ran most of the offensive drills. However, Jones consulted [Matt] Patricia before each play during the 11-on-11 series, which placed an emphasis on the run game. Lastly, head coach Bill Belichick ran a version of the 2-minute drill during the final moments of 11-on-11s.

And like any good mystery, to solve it often involves understanding the history behind it. Credit to Patriots play-by-play guy Bob Socci for figuring out which door in this haunted amusement park to open:

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Holy cow, is that some mystery solving. I mean, where do you find this? Mircofilm at the local library? Or microfiche, whatever that is? This is genius-level sleuthing. 

And here it is. Historic proof that Belichick is not shy about employing an operation where a couple of trusted assistants offer him input, and he makes the call. He did it as a rookie head coach 30-plus years ago, confident he understood the game well enough even then. 

Sure, the Browns finished 16th in scoring. And 19th in total yards. And finished 6-10. But that's after finishing with the second fewest points, the fourth fewest yards, and going 3-13 the previous year.

And if it's Jones' continued development you're concerned with (I raise my hand), Belichick's '91 Browns had the 4th best passer rating in the league with Bernie Kosar at QB. The year before, Kosar led them to the third lowest. 

If it's rushing you're interested in (my hand goes up again), the 1990 Browns were dead last in yards and yards per attempt. OC Bill improved those numbers to a slightly more respectable 24th and 23rd. But again, the huge leap forward was in the passing game, with the same quarterback and essentially the same skill position personnel around him. 

So all signs point to GM Bill encouraging HC Bill to hire the best man for the job: OC Bill. Unlike Judge and Patricia, you certainly can't say he's got no experience working with Mac Jones or calling plays. The only thing that's truly hard to believe is he never had the job before now.