Nov 28, 2021; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and outside linebackers coach Steve Belichick (foreground) on the sideline as they take on the Tennessee Titans in the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Bill Belichick really does not like making life easy for the media members covering the New England Patriots. That’s nothing new, but the way that his coaching staff has seemingly been trained not to answer what they are specifically doing and which players they are working with has been taken to a new level this season.

First off, in a very Belichickian move, he’s found a loophole in the NFL interview policies to ensure that his assistant coaches speak to the media in the least effective way possible. Since they are only required to speak to the media twice during the offseason, he’s scheduled those days to be back-to-back.

As far as what the assistant coaches are saying in those interviews, it ain’t much. And if you’re trying to figure out what everyone’s title or role will be, good luck with that.

“Honestly, I don’t really know, and honestly, I don’t really care,” Steve Belichick said when asked if he was still outside linebackers coach or if he had a new role. “I just like coaching football. I’m happy to be on defense, but whatever I’ve got to do, I’m happy to do. I’m happy to be around football.”

When asked if he was now the defensive coordinator, Belichick said “Fair question that I don’t have the answer to. If I am, great. If I’m not, that’s good too.”

Meanwhile, Jerod Mayo, who coached inside linebackers and acted as defensive coordinator last season, said of his role this year that he is “coaching defensive players.”

“Honestly, I just like to say I’m a football coach,” he said. “Not trying to be ambiguous here. I just like to say I’m a football coach. I coach football players. I’m a teacher. I’m a teacher, and I’m trying to get guys better each and every day.”

Matt Patricia, who was the Patriots’ defensive coordinator before becoming the Lions’ head coach, appears now to be coaching the offense.

“I’ve been out there with the offensive guys, working with the offensive line,” Patricia said. “It’s been fun to get back to that and get back to my roots.”

Former Giants coach Joe Judge appears to be working with quarterbacks, though it’s unclear he’ll be working on play calls as well.

I am working with Mac [Jones], along with some other people; I work with all the skill [groups],” Judge said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN. “I’d say all of us are working collectively as a coaching unit to work with the entire offense…in terms of who is coaching each position, you’ll see me with the quarterbacks…”

“In terms of play-calling, when coach [Belichick] declares who he wants to do it, we’ll move forward with that,” Judge said.

On and on it went and the NFL world certainly had a lot of strong reactions to the silly game that Belichick and his assistant coaches are playing when it comes to announcing what their roles are this upcoming season.

[Zack Cox, Mark Daniels]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.