For the first time in 24 years, the New England Patriots have a vacancy at the head coaching position. The living legend of Bill Belichick and the team he guided for nearly a quarter century to so many wins, playoff appearances and championships have agreed to part ways.
Still doesn’t seem real. Like with so many significant moments in life - birth, death, loss, victory, defeat, accomplishment - even when you think you’re ready for the moment, you may just not be prepared.
This ideal holds true across so many disciplines and challenges we face. Our ability to overcome adversity and rise to an occasion - something Bill Belichick as coach of the Patriots was able to guide his team to do successfully so many times - helps us reach goals and may ultimately come to define us in moments of opportunity.
While tributes pour in for Belichick’s time and success in New England, fact remains the team now begins the most important phase since, well, they hired Bill Belichick after he resigned as HC of the NYJ back in January of 2000. And though it may seem sacrilegious to discuss the idea of someone else coaching the team at all, let alone just moments after Belichick and owner Robert Kraft announced their mutually agreed upon decision, they need a new HC of the NEP.
The job, which has had a number of names and familiar Foxboro faces tied to it in recent days, like former linebackers Jerod Mayo and Mike Vrabel, will be one of the most coveted in all of sports and the NFL. Other suitors may come calling, other candidates perhaps to be interviewed. Fans will have their favorites as well…and it appears at the moment they have a clear choice.
But what a tall task whoever the next coach is has ahead of them.
First off, it’s incredibly difficult to follow in the footsteps of a legend. The old expression, “You don’t want to be the guy who follows the man,” holds rather true for whoever coaches after Bill Belichick. His accomplishments, persona and reputation speak clearly for themselves. And history is fraught with examples of people trying to replace legends on the field or on the sideline and failing to come close to their forerunner.
As recently as 2020, Cam Newton was the first to step in and play QB for the Patriots following Tom Brady’s incredible 20-year run. While Newton had the presence and personality to tackle the opportunity, his game play fell well short and the team finished with their first losing season since…before Tom Brady was the QB of the NEP.
It’s an all-too-familiar scenario as the standard against which everything you do is judged is unfair and impossible to live up to following generational greatness. Yet still, someone tries to be the next John Elway, Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan, Joe Torre…and often fails. More often than not because of the lack of talent surrounding them.
Speaking of talent…let’s not bury the lead. The next coach will have their work cut out for them, to say the least, in large part due to the deficit of talent on the team. Bill Belichick’s time as coach of the Patriots came to an end more due to his GM work and drafts of the past decade than his ability to scheme, gameplan and coach. That the Patriots didn’t re-sign a player drafted in the first, second or third round from 2013 to present speaks volumes to their draft miscalculations and roster management. There was only so much Bill the coach and his coordinators could do without Brady, but especially with the roster Bill the GM gave them.
Heading into 2024 the team,which had zero Pro Bowlers for 2023, has personnel questions galore, most notably on offense. While safety Kyle Dugger and linebackers Josh Uche and Anfernee Jennings highlight the defensive free agents, the offense is just flat-out a mess.
The future QB of the Pats is not on the current roster, and it’s likely Bailey Zappe and Mac Jones won’t be either (let’s not get into how bad the 2023 QB play was). The team has no tight ends signed for 2024 and a glaring lack of elite wide receivers (Zeke Elliott was the leading receiver with 51 catches and shifty rookie Pop Douglas had the most receiving yards with just 564). DeVante Parker is old and slow, JuJu Smith-Schuster is broken and Tyquan Thornton can’t stay on the field, and when he’s out there he runs the wrong routes. The team finished with no 100-yard rushers or pass-catchers in a game all season. The last team to do that was the 1982 Baltimore Colts, with Kendrick Bourne (a free agent recovering from ACL surgery) the last to do so on Dec. 24, 2022 vs. the Cincinnati Bengals.
Oh, and the team only has oft-injured journeymen Calvin Anderson and Conor McDermott signed at offensive tackle for 2024, coming off of a year where the offensive line was a disaster (to put it mildly). Plus depth on the interior is strained – Cole Strange is recovering from a major knee injury and center David Andrews is on the last legs of his great career as well.
Wait…forgot to mention the rookie kicker was horrendous, too. But the rookie punter was good! Suffice to say the roster is an absolute mess and whoever helps rebuild it, from coach to GM to scouts and more, will have their work cut out for them. This is not an immediate turnkey turnaround. This is a gut reno and long-term rebuild.
Modest success and not success measured against the impossible accomplishments of the Brady/Belichick era will buy the next coach trust and amnesty among ownership, fans and media for sure…even if said coach doesn’t have half the “charm” or personality of Belichick. But that success may be difficult to come by anytime soon. The next coach will have so many crucial decisions about coordinators, staff, executives, players and more. He will have to be patient, persistent, aware of the history he follows, and yet oblivious to how people view him when compared to it. Almost makes that incredible opportunity of coaching the Patriots seem like an impossible job.
Belichick’s coaching legacy is almost like a tall tale…and as he departs he leaves behind a tall task for the next coach. Good luck to whoever tries to do that job.
