Monday marks the 21st anniversary of Bill Belichick famously resigning as “HC of the NYJ” just before what was supposed to be his introductory press conference, setting up his move to the Patriots a few weeks later.
It also marks the end of just his second losing season in 21 years as Patriots head coach, and the first since that very first season back in 2000.
It was certainly as bizarre of a season as we’ve ever seen, with all the COVID regulations (including no fans in the stands), the departure of Tom Brady, the seeming lack of a real plan at quarterback before the signing of Cam Newton for cheap money, and the numerous opt-outs before the season, especially on defense.
Belichick has also been oddly open about discussing the team’s finances, telling Ordway, Merloni and Fauria earlier this season that the team had “sold out and won three Super Bowls” in recent years and “didn’t have any money” this season.
It’s all created a feeling among some that Belichick deserves a “pass” for this season, especially now that he’ll have a full offseason to reset the team with plenty of cap space.
Making his weekly appearance on The Greg Hill Show Monday morning, CBS analyst and WFAN host Boomer Esiason weighed in on whether Belichick should in fact get a pass.
“Look, he’s accomplished so much,” Esiason said. “To sit in judgment of how they played this year and how things went down, just listening to [Cardinals coach] Kliff Kingsbury and [Rams coach] Sean McVay over the weekend and doing a Zoom call with those guys and listening to everything that they’ve had to deal with this year, I think every coach in the league honestly deserves a pass. There are obviously going to be guys like [former Jets coach] Adam Gase and [former Texans coach] Bill O’Brien who got fired or are getting fired or will get fired. Maybe [Jaguars coach] Doug Marrone will get fired today, I’m not sure.
“But I mean the fact that they got in 256 games in a 17-week schedule is nothing short of a miracle, I think. These coaches had to deal with so much, including the opt-outs, which everyone tends to forget some 17 weeks later, the amount of players that did that to Bill. So I think it’s a pass for everybody and the fact that we had a full season is nothing short of a miracle.”
Whether he gets a “pass” or not, Belichick at least has job security unlike some other coaches who had losing seasons. But clearly more will be expected of the Patriots next season, so what Belichick and Co. do this offseason will be interesting to watch.