1 – One of the key takeaways over the last couple weeks as head coaching jobs across the NFL filled up was how remarkable it feels that Bill Belichick was not able to find a new football home after parting ways with the Patriots.
But the reality is that the soon-to-be 72-year-old Belichick has some things working against him in his employment hunt including obviously his age, recent success rate and dictatorial reputation. Whether people choose to acknowledged them or not, all are legitimate reasons for a team to be hesitant to hire a future Hall of Famer who some consider the greatest of all time.
Does a team owner really want to blow up his power structure for a short run with a coach who’s had three losing seasons in the last four years? It’s a fair question.
So, what’s next for Belichick beyond a possible short-term career in TV?
There might actually be a perfect solution to Belichick’s job hunting, one that might even save the coach from his own control freak instincts.
What if one of the supposed Super Bowl-ready squads that passed on Belichick this fall – someone like Dallas, Buffalo, Philadelphia or the New York Jets – gets off to a disappointing start to open up the 2024 season and pushes its owner to consider making an in-season coaching change? Having Belichick a phone-call away could be tantalizingly tempting.
And from Belichick’s perspective, joining a talented team with high expectations in need of an immediate leadership jolt might just be his best option at this point. He wouldn’t have the time or the opportunity to turn over the coaching staff or roster. He wouldn’t be able to upset the front-office apple cart. He would simply need to show up on the fly and coach up an in-place roster, which is what many believe is his greatest strength at this stage in the back end of his career.
Time will tell if or when Belichick gets another shot to lead an NFL franchise, as the game of musical chairs ended this offseason with the Hoodie lacking a seat.
But maybe, just maybe, he’ll find a way to an NFL sideline at some point this coming fall.
And maybe a midseason, hit-the-ground-running, show-up-and-coach possibility is the best option for the aging legend.
2 – While Belichick never was able to land a gig, the Patriots finally landed an offensive coordinator for Jerod Mayo’s staff this week with the hiring of long-time NFL QB coach Alex Van Pelt. As with so many things surrounding the NFL and the Patriots, Van Pelt’s hire has been polarizing among fans and media. Optimists focus on the fact that he’s a former passer himself with a long history of working with the quarterback position, something that the team could benefit from if it selects a new potential franchise QB early in the draft. Others note that Van Pelt seems to be far afield from what was a perceived desire by New England to add a young offensive mind from the Sean McVay or Kyle Shanahan way of doing business.
Van Pelt’s lack of experience calling plays isn’t as concerning as the fact that he had never really ascended to that role for any extended period of time over his last 18 years as an NFL assistant. In many ways Van Pelt is journeyman QB coach based on his resume. Maybe he’ll shine in a new, elevated role later in his career than is common these days in what is a young man’s profession, at least for so many NFL offenses. Maybe.
3 – While many proponents promote Van Pelt’s experience and time working with QBs as a reason to have faith in the hire in Foxborough, there is a large group outside the building that doesn’t pay the same deserved respect to Josh McDaniels. The reality is that Van Pelt’s resume doesn’t come close to measuring up to McDaniels’ work as a play caller or QB coach. People in these parts – maybe swayed by McDaniels’ recent failure as a head coach or simply by a desire to get away from ideas and people associated with Belichick’s way of doing business – seem to forget that not only did McDaniels do good things with Tom Brady, but he found a way to make it work with the likes of Matt Cassel, Jimmy Garoppolo, Jacoby Brissett and, most recently, Mac Jones.
It’s fine to think that Van Pelt may be the right man for the job right now and that he might be able to do good things for a young QB.
But if you think Van Pelt is more accomplished or qualified than McDaniels, then you haven’t been paying attention for the last couple decades.
4 – Another less-than-inspiring hire could also be in the works for Mayo, as the Patriots are reportedly in talks to add former Giants head coach Ben McAdoo, who most recently served as the Panthers offensive coordinator in 2022. The 46-year-old worked with both Van Pelt and current Patriots director of scouting Eliot Wolf in Green Bay, where he was the QB coach from 2012-13. After winning 11 games in his first season as head coach in New York, McAdoo’s tenure quickly unraveled and is best known for benching Eli Manning, a situation that helped lead to his firing a few weeks later.
5 – One more name being thrown about as a possible addition to Mayo’s coaching staff that is finally coming to fruition is Chad O’Shea, who previously served as New England’s wide receivers coach under Belichick. After leaving New England O’Shea became the offensive coordinator for one year in Miami. The last four years he’s been a wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator in Cleveland, where he worked with Van Pelt.
With the Van Pelt hire and a staff that’s reportedly filling out with the likes of McAdoo and O’Shea, New England is putting together anything but a fresh, young coaching staff on offense. Rather, it’s a group of retreads and journeyman assistants with ties to Wolf in Cleveland and Green Bay. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad staff or won’t get the job done, but it’s certainly not the kind of group that the team seemed to be seeking with many of the names on its list of interviews early on in the coordinator search.
6 – According to a report in The Athletic this week, “if it’s Wolf running the show, expect the Patriots to give a long, hard look at drafting a left tackle with the No. 3 pick.”
Such a proclamation ignited great debate among fans with strong opinions in both directions. It’s no different here. With the option to draft a would-be franchise QB, a supposed generational talent at wide receiver or even to trade down to accumulate future draft picks to strengthen a needy roster, watching New England stand pat at No. 3 overall only to take a tackle would be a really disappointing outcome to the draft process in this quite critical first offseason post-Belichick.
7 – Belichick took out a full-page ad in this Sunday’s Boston Globe, utilizing the A3 space to write a letter to Patriots fans.
Belichick praised Patriot Nation for their boundless support over the years and, most notably, showed self-awareness in noting that many may have “tolerated” his press conferences and fashion sense over the years. Of course it’s easy to be tolerant when your favorite team is winning division titles, competing for Super Bowls and landing Lombardi Trophies as was the case under Belichick’s dynastic watch in New England.