Damien Harris criticizes Belichick and Patricia for failed Patriots offense originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston
Former New England Patriots running back Damien Harris went on a nearly 15-minute rant Thursday, opening up to Robert Mays in “Atlético Football Show” about what it was really like to be led by head coach Bill Belichick and offensive coordinators Matt Patricia and Joe Judge for the 2022 season.
Harris, who announced his retirement from the NFL in Marchjoins a short list of players willing to talk about the downside of playing for Belichick and how bad things really were.
Harris began by openly admitting he wasn’t surprised his former coach didn’t get a job after mutually agreeing to walk away from New England. Despite repeating how much he loved playing for Belichick, one thing Harris wasn’t a fan of was Belichick’s power complex.
Signing with the Buffalo Bills after leaving New England was a revelation for Harris, describing the new experience as feeling like he was on “a different planet.” Harris felt that he was now able to speak out and address issues or concerns he had – something he couldn’t do in New England.
“If anyone had anything to say about it,” Harris said of filing complaints with Belichick, “it was [met with] a very, very quick, quick, ‘Shut up. [expletive] above. I know what I’m doing,’ and that’s it.’”
Harris’ complaints focused primarily on the 2022 offense led by Matt Patricia and Joe Judge — two people he didn’t consider qualified to make calls on the offensive side of the field. Harris said he felt both coaches were just pulling plays from Madden, adding that the two didn’t understand how to build a playbook.
“I remember OTAs, minicamp, sitting around talking to each other and thinking, ‘Hey, how do we tell Bill this isn’t working?'” Harris said. “… I think it was very obvious a long time ago.”
“We knew before our first game, we knew during training camp [that the offense would fail]” Harris added, noting that his teammates felt the same way and that team leaders would try to hold meetings to address these concerns, but no coach would listen.
As for the first-round quarterback who was coming off a Pro Bowl debut season, Harris believed the coaches’ setup ruined Mac Jones, which led to players openly mocking coaches around the installation.
Both Harris and the Patriots have begun new chapters in their respective journeys — Harris is enjoying his retirement with his newborn son and the Patriots look to turn a new leaf after Belichick under new head coach Jerod Mayo.
