Well clearly we disagree, and here's where I think you are are off track. It's the view that the Pats had a radically NEW offensive system compared to past years and that fact PROVES that MP/JJ were intended to be here to stay. I KNOW that the language remained the same, just like it has the last 24 years. I know I saw a lot of very familiar plays and route combinations. Was it "different", sure it was, but offenses change and evolve EVERY year, even under a vet OC. I don't see how this proves he was installed as a long term fix.
I think the very fact that they DIDN'T go with Nick Calley is one of the reasons I felt that MP was a place holder. The "reports" that he turned down a chance to be the play caller, shows that HE knew that it was a one year gig and he wouldn't be likely to be calling the plays in 2023. Calley has ambitions for higher positions. He wasn't going to get it here and he left for a parallel position. But I don't disagree. Calley could have been a better one year replacement. But we don't know if he would have accepted it as a one year gig. His not wanting to be the play caller (if that report was true) makes me believe that he wouldn't have taken the job. He knew that BOB was on the way.
I was among those who felt that with all the coaching experience MP had, the knowledge of the detailed offensive concepts he had to know to stop them, PLUS the fact he knew what it took to be a coordinator I thought he COULD be a guy who could fill a short term role. So basically when it was announced, he wasn't a guy who would be my ideal, but he was I guy I THOUGHT could do the job adequately. Well we all know how THAT worked out.
MY guy has always been BOB. His contract situation and Bill relationship with Saban made it impossible for him to be here in 2022, he'd be free in 2023 and Bill rolled the dice with MP/JJ and came up snake eyes. I never believed Patricia was a long term choice as an OC.
Here is a list of the reasons I believe what I do, which I probably should done in the first place.
1. No out of program candidates were even interviewed for the position. They knew the deal.
2. people forget just how many offensive assistants left with Josh. If Bill was gong with a long term OC, don't you think people would be banging down the door for a chance to be here, working with Bill, developing the best 2021 rookie QB, with a pretty solid, if not dynamic roster.
3. As to Calley, NONE of know how Bill felt about him, but he must have liked him to have kept him working for that long. But its one thing to be a position coach and another to be the coordinator. We know that Calley didn't want a one year gig. He knew, likey you should, that BOB was coming
4. You see the 2022 offense was a "radical" departure from what the Pats did in the past. I have an issue with the radical change part,and having it be a logical reason to believe MP was competing for a full time job.
Finally, since I'm done talking about this.....again , BOB IS the new OC. The language WILL remain the same. The offense WILL look different and better than last year (low bar). It will look different from the 2021 offense of Josh. I have NO idea if this improvement will translate into wins, since the schedule is as tough as I have ever seen this year.