There is no doubt that Bill Belichick is one of the greatest coaches in NFL history. In 24 seasons at the helm of the New England Patriots, he won six Super Bowl championships and took almost full advantage of the fact that he had legendary quarterback Tom Brady by his side for most of that time.
Belichick had a unique arrangement with the Patriots during his time there, as he was also their de facto general manager. He left the team early this offseason and is currently planning on joining the Manningcast, which is the alternate broadcast of Monday Night Football games featuring retired QBs Peyton Manning and Eli Manning.
His legacy took a hit during his last couple of years with New England, as some took shots at him for doing a poor job in his role as de facto general manager.
The team failed to put any real offensive talent around young quarterback Mac Jones, and it may have played a role in Jones struggling and ultimately getting benched and then traded this offseason.
Fox Sports personality Colin Cowherd is one of those who has taken shots at Belichick. He believes the downfall of the Patriots is chiefly due to Belichick being lousy at his general manager role.
“Bill always said do your job. And then he got successful and the rings. He then started doing the general manager’s job and the coaching job. And he’s a lousy GM,” Cowherd said via The Volume.
Last season, the Patriots had to endure the type of pain and struggles they haven’t had to deal with in decades. They finished just 4-13 and finished near the bottom of the league in a number of key offensive categories.
Jones making the Pro Bowl and getting the team to the playoffs as a rookie in 2021 now seems like a distant memory. He was benched multiple times in 2023, and it became painfully obvious that he isn’t deserving at all of being Brady’s heir apparent.
It is a new era for the Patriots now. They have a new head coach in Jerod Mayo, who was a star linebacker and an inside linebackers coach under Belichick. They’re also exercising some separation of powers, as Eliot Wolf, their former director of scouting, is now their general manager.
They also have a potential franchise quarterback in incoming rookie Drake Maye, the No. 3 pick in April’s draft. Now the challenge will be to not only develop him but to also field a competitive squad around him, something Belichick failed to do with Jones.
While Bill Belichick’s days with the Patriots are over, it will be interesting to see what his future holds. Next offseason, it seems very likely that he’ll be able to land a new NFL coaching job.
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