Why it is time for a rebuild in New England, without Belichick

Bill Belichick is the greatest head coach in NFL history. And it’s not close.

He has served as the New England Patriots head coach and general manager for two decades and has won six super bowls on nine appearances, along with the most playoff wins in NFL history. But since the departure of the greatest quarterback to ever play, Tom Brady, the Patriots have gone from the most dominant team in the league to one riddled with inconsistency and little optimism.

While calling for Belichick’s job is quite the assertion, it is hard to ignore the dysfunctional state of the Patriots since Brady and Belichick’s split. They have continually whiffed on draft picks, free agent signings and have failed to innovate their coaching staff. And are now the clear little brother in the AFC East. 

Difficulty in moving on from Brady

After Brady decided to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 2019 season, Belichick was given full reign over the Patriot rebuild. Ahead of the 2020 season, Belichick did little to improve the Patriots roster. He was able to bring-in longtime Panther, Cam Newton, as their next quarterback and would hit on a late round pick in starting tackle Michael Onwenu and second round safety Kyle Dugger.

But, the loss of Brady was quite apparent, as the once dominant Patriots finished 7-9, missing the playoffs for the first time in eleven seasons. 

Going into 2021, Belichick made a point to spend money in the offseason to bring the Patriots back to the postseason. Belichick would ink nine free agents to multi-year deals, which led the most NFL that offseason.

He would add key weapons to the offense in Hunter Henry, Jonnu Smith, Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor, while bolstering the defense with star edge rusher Matthew Judon. In the draft, Belichick would draft Alabama’s star quarterback Mac Jones to be the next potential franchise quarterback.

These moves would turn out to pay dividends, as the Patriots would end with a 10-7 record and a playoff berth. But, while the Patriots were much improved from 2020, they were surely not the team they once were and would get obliterated by their division rivals 47-17 in the wildcard. 

All change, no progress

Going into this season, the Patriots lost their longtime offensive coordinator in Josh McDaniels to the Raiders, who was responsible for a lot of their past success. With him gone, Belichick did a poor job of filling his role by appointing defensive-minded Matt Patricia and special teams guru Joe Judge to head the offense.

Both had come off of failed head coaching gigs and had next to zero offensive experience on a professional level besides Judge’s one year as a wide receivers coach in 2019. In addition, Belichick would add zero difference makers in the off-season to surround his franchise signal caller with legitimate weapons to make a deeper run.

As a result, Mac Jones has visibly regressed, earning a 3-7 touchdown to interception ratio in three games. The Patriots now stand at a hopeless 4-4 with more question marks than when they entered. While the season is surely not over, the Patriots rank last in the AFC east, with a possible bust at quarterback and the 22nd ranked defense in the league. 

Can the Patriots learn from other teams?

Three years removed, the Patriots are clearly moving in the wrong direction. While Belichick isn’t the only issue, his plan to bring the Patriots back to the promised land has surely failed. Although it is important to respect one’s greatness, it is equally important to understand when their time has ended.

In 2012, the Philadelphia Eagles moved on from Hall of Fame coach Andy Reid after fourteen seasons. During Andy’s time, they had nine playoff appearances, five NFC Championship games including one Super Bowl appearance.

Though to a lesser extent, Andy experienced a similar ending in Philly as Belichick is headed towards in New England. Andy had moved on from his longtime star quarterback Donovan McNabb after eleven seasons in which they experienced a slew of NFC Championships. Andy was entrusted with spearheading the next generation of Eagles football after Donovan’s exit and would experience some ups and downs.

In 2010, the Eagles went 10-6 and had an early postseason exit at the hands of the Packers. Andy would go on to sign a slew of free agents, just as Belichick had, which would be deemed the “Dream Team”. This team would severely underachieve, earning an 8-8 record, which led to people calling for Andy Reid’s job.

The Eagles and Reid would then collapse the next year which led to his eventual firing during the 2013 offseason. While it was a hard move, it was evident what needed to happen. While a hard decision it would bode well for both sides. Reid would make Kansas City the next hegemony of the NFL, and the Eagles would finally get over the hump and win their first Super Bowl. 

Ultimately, Belichick and New England are not succeeding together and are fighting hopelessly to resemble what they once had. While Belichick may want to keep coaching to establish a legacy past Brady, it does not need to be in New England.

Furthermore, New England doesn’t need Belichick to win. There are a multitude of young coaches who could come in and stimulate a winning culture; San Francisco’s exciting defensive coordinator Demeco Ryans is one that comes to mind. Whether Kraft and Belichick decide to split is hard to say, but a break-up may be just what both sides need to start winning again.