After 24 years and six Super Bowl titles, it’s over in New England for legendary head coach Bill Belichick. Following a disastrous 4-13 season where seemingly nothing went right, the Patriots’ general manager and head coach is reportedly parting ways with the organization he helped to turn into an NFL powerhouse. It was the second consecutive year the Patriots missed the playoffs — and three out of the last four since quarterback Tom Brady left.
It feels surreal that it’s gotten to this point between Belichick and the Patriots. He’s arguably the greatest football coach of all-time. In 24 seasons with Belichick at the helm, the Patriots have been to the playoffs an astounding 17 times. The 71-year-old is only 15 wins away from breaking Don Shula’s all-time wins list. Belichick is literally the definition of a living legend.
Despite all the success, Belichick can only blame himself as why the Patriots have regressed over these past few seasons. From coaching personnel blunders to head-scratching drafts and letting the greatest football player ever walk out the door, here are four reasons why Belichick needed to give up control.
1. The Matt Patricia and Joe Judge Disaster
Matt Patricia was once a defensive mastermind for the New England Patriots when he served as defensive coordinator from 2012 to 2017, capturing two Super Bowls. He then had a very forgettable head coaching stint with the Detroit Lions from 2018 to 2020, finishing 13-27-1 and getting fired midway through his third season.
Joe Judge was a former special teams coordinator for the Patriots before becoming the head coach for the New York Giants, finishing 10-23 over the course of 2020 and 2021 before being fired.
However, Belichick decided to have Patricia and Judge run the offense in 2022, while not having a true offensive coordinator. Patricia served as the play-caller, while Judge was the quarterbacks coach — and both were in way over their heads. Unfortunately, young quarterback Mac Jones suffered the consequences, seriously regressing after a strong rookie season and never recovering. Alex Reimer of WEEI called the duo a “debacle.”
“Patricia and Judge didn’t possess any meaningful experience coaching offense; and yet, they were in charge of the operation. Belichick’s strange move was widely pilloried from the start, but the Patriots stuck with it,” writes Reimer. “They wound up getting burned.”
“Young quarterbacks are the most valuable asset in the NFL, and there’s no doubt that Belichick set Jones back with the Patricia and Judge experience. The second-year passer regressed in every statistical category this season, and often acted histrionically on the field when he disagreed with the play calls,” Reimer continues.
Everyone saw this disaster coming a mile away, even including during the 2022 training camp, except for Belichick it seems.
“I’m not sure Joe Judge and Matt Patricia could fit a loveseat through a double door if they were the two men who arrived with your moving truck in the greater Boston area. The two colossal failures as NFL head coaches were a combined 23-52-1 in nearly five seasons with their respective teams. If you ask a Giants fan about Judge, or a Lions fan about Patricia, their response is going to be largely negative — and that’s if they utter actual words and not just give a thumbs down and make a fart noise,” writes Sean Beckwith of Deadspin.
“So, it’s a wonder why Bill Belichick has entrusted the development of Mac Jones to tweedle dee and tweedle idiot. The reports out of Patriots camp are of a frustrated, overwhelmed, soul-searching offense, one requiring motivational speeches and a designated play caller.”
2. Draft-Class Failures
While there’s no denying the accomplishments of Bill Belichick the coach, the same cannot be said for Belichick the general manager lately, especially when it comes to the NFL Draft.
“In a league that increasingly values collaboration and a confluence of ideas, the Patriots are an anomaly. Belichick decides everything. Scouts can spend years getting to know everything about a prospect, but if Belichick doesn’t agree with the assessment, they’re often overruled,” writes The Athletic’s Chad Graff.
“His draft classes have long struggled. Astoundingly, Belichick hasn’t re-signed a player he drafted in the first three rounds since 2013 (Duron Harmon). In 2022, he chose a left guard in the first round [Cole Strange] who was seen by most experts as a third-round pick at best, then in the second round chose a wide receiver (Tyquan Thornton) who can already be labeled a bust. His 2021 first-round pick (quarterback Mac Jones) has been benched, and his first-round pick in 2019 (N’Keal Harry) was such a bust that he was off the team three years later.”
The lack of young talent has put pressure on whether or not Belichick should remain as general manager. On Jan. 8, Belichick opened the door that he might be willing to relinquish personnel authority. Is it too little, too late, though?
“For all of his brilliance as a coach, Bill Belichick has let himself down due to his poor decisions as a GM. In particular, his NFL draft misses have come back to bite him,” according to Stephen Sheehan of Sportscasting.
“Early in his Patriots tenure, Belichick excelled at developing young players. Tom Brady, Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork, and Asante Samuel all became stars in New England after arriving via the draft. Years later, Patrick Chung, Devin McCourty, Rob Gronkowski, Nate Solder, and Dont’a Hightower formed a new nucleus of homegrown talent.”
Recently, though, Belichick’s decisions have led to a staggering number of early round busts:
- Malcom Brown (1st, round 2015)
- Jordan Richards (2nd round, 2015)
- Cyrus Jones (2nd round, 2016)
- Derek Rivers (3rd round, 2017)
- Antonio Garcia (3rd round, 2017)
- Isaiah Wynn (1st round, 2018)
- Sony Michel (1st round, 2018)
- Duke Dawson (2nd round, 2018)
- N’Keal Harry (1st round, 2019)
- Joejuan Williams (2nd round, 2019)
Quite possibly the biggest misstep was not taking Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson in the 2018 NFL Draft. The Patriots had two first round picks in that draft and actually met with Jackson. The future MVP was sliding down the draft board when the Patriots were on the clock with the 31st overall pick. Instead of selecting Jackson who could’ve ended up taking over Brady’s spot after leaving for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Patriots drafted running back Sony Michel.
“In 2018, Tom Brady was 41 years old and the Patriots had two first-round draft picks. Despite a favorable pre-draft visit with Jackson, having traded away backup Jimmy Garoppolo and owning only 33-year-old journeyman Brian Hoyer as its quarterback – some things never change – New England passed on the future NFL MVP,” writes Richie Witt of Patriots Country.
The Patriots will be selecting third overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. Will Belichick still have the final say?
3. Lack of Big Signings
It’s been a rough go for the Patriots lately as far as free agency. New England is no longer a destination to go chase a ring since Brady left. The Patriots also made some head-scratching moves, like not going after top wide receiver De’Andre Hopkins in free agency during the 2023 offseason.
“But it isn’t just drafting that could be considered a problem; the Belichick player acquisition model can also be blamed. The Patriots coach said it himself this offseason that they’ve been among the bottom of the league in cash spending over the last few seasons. Outside of the 2021 offseason, where the Patriots $163 million in free agency, they haven’t exactly splashed the cash on big signings,” writes Harrison Reno of Patriots Country.
“For an offense throwing the ball at one of the higher rates in the league, the Patriots don’t have a star receiver, nor has it seemed that they’ve been aggressive in trying to get one. While they did add JuJu Smith-Schuster this offseason, they weren’t ‘aggressive’ enough to land DeAndre Hopkins, according to reports, despite having the money to sign him,” Reno continues.
“These problems with the acquisition of personnel all belong at the doorstep of Belichick, the general manager. While it is hard to argue Belichick hasn’t quite set himself up to success, it is his role as the front office executive that seems to be broken, not his coaching.”
Another head-scratching move was letting wide receiver Jakobi Meyers walk.
“For the umpteenth offseason in a row, many wondered what the New England Patriots would do to address the lack of depth at wide receiver. The leading receiver for the previous few seasons, Jakobi Meyers, was set to hit free agency. The team’s offense was an unmitigated catastrophe mostly due to the ineptitude of Matt Patricia but the receiving room was one of the worst in the league. There was zero explosiveness and nobody other than Meyers was able to separate on a consistent basis. The crop of free agents was not particularly talented but there were myraid ways the Pats could’ve gone about getting Mac Jones better weapons,” notes Liam McKeone from The Big Lead.
The 2021 free agent class didn’t get the Patriots any closer to get back to the promised land. That offseason, the Pats spent nearly $170 million. The organization’s return on investment remains lacking.
“Belichick and the Patriots added ‘better players’ available on the open market and spent close to $170 million. It was the class that awarded the Patriots players like Matthew Judon (four years, $56 million), Jonnu Smith (four years, $50 million), Hunter Henry (three years, $37.5 million), Nelson Agholor (two years, $26 million), Jalen Mills (four years, $24 million) as well as Kendrick Bourne (three years, $22.5 million) and others,” details Sean McGuire of the New England Sports Network.
“Since their respective arrivals, however, the Patriots have not come any closer to competing for a Super Bowl.”
4. Letting Tom Brady Leave
In the end, this was Belichick’s undoing. How do you let the greatest football player of all-time leave? Brady should’ve stayed with the Patriots for his entire career, riding off into the sunset. Instead, he ended up signing with the Buccaneers and wins a Super Bowl, leaving a myriad of questions for Belichick.
“But by the end of 2019, celebrating another Super Bowl felt like a distant memory. The relationship between Brady and Belichick was fractured. After six Super Bowls and three MVPs, Brady was 42 years old and didn’t want to be antagonized at work anymore. He wanted the kind of contract that meant he wouldn’t go anywhere until he was 45, ensuring he retired as a Patriot. Belichick wouldn’t commit to that kind of deal,” writes The Athletic’s Chad Graff.
“Since Brady’s departure, though, Kraft has grown frustrated as his team, once a model of success, has cratered into one of the NFL’s worst,” Graff continues.
“Belichick, meanwhile, has expressed irritation that all the success he’s helped provide hasn’t garnered more deference during this decline. When asked before the 2023 season why fans should still be optimistic about the Patriots, Belichick quipped, ‘I don’t know — the last 25 years?'”
Since Brady left, Belichick and the Patriots are 29-38, finishing third twice and last once.
“It was too good to last forever. Brady, feeling disrespected, went south for warmer weather … and won a Super Bowl. Mac Jones was no Brady, and has regressed in each of his three seasons as the QB1 of the Patriots. Without the greatest quarterback of all time, Belichick’s seemingly inevitable conquest of the all-time NFL wins record sputtered,” writes Tom Caron for the Sun Journal.
What does the future hold for Belichick? Will he head to another team and break Shula’s wins record with another team? It’s going to be a life-altering offseason for Belichick and the Pats.
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