Patriots, Bill Belichick to part ways after season

[Woodman]

Patriots, Bill Belichick to part ways after season, according to NBC report - SBNation.com (https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2023/12/12/23999253/bill-belichick-new-england-patriots-nfl)

Now, according to at least one report, the team and the coach are set to part ways at the end of the season. According to Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston (https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/insiders/tom-curran/), the decision was made by owner Robert Kraft after an embarrassing loss to the Indianapolis Colts (https://www.stampedeblue.com/) in Germany, a loss that highlighted subpar play at the quarterback position. Here’s Curran’s full report:

[jamze132]

Didn’t he just sign a multi-year extension prior to the season? Lol

[Mad Max]

Didn’t he just sign a multi-year extension prior to the season? Lol
That’s just some pundits punditing highly unlikely they know anything “for sure”. Though you don’t need to be a football savant to realize he will probably be gone.

[BuffaloBlitz83]

Didn’t he just sign a multi-year extension prior to the season? Lol

They so dumb they'll likely hire josh McDaniels

[YardRat]

Has kind of been not if, but when, for awhile now.

[Woodman]

They so dumb they'll likely hire josh McDaniels

:lol: That would be great!! :lol:

[Canadian'eh!]

Didn’t he just sign a multi-year extension prior to the season? Lol

Why would you fire him when someone would trade you quite a bit for him if he wanted to go there?

Another option might be retirement

[ghz in pittsburgh]

To be honest, I think Belichick, at 71, is still a better HC than McDermott. BUT as a GM, he is worse than Beane, likely a lot worse. We all know if Belichick goes anywhere, he'll be the one doing both. Thus a NO from me.

[mightysimi]

Next stop Chargers. I wouldn't count out Tipper throwing a bag at him in Carolina either.

[bleve]

Is he going to take Ernie Adams with him?

[Bill Cody]

To be honest, I think Belichick, at 71, is still a better HC than McDermott. BUT as a GM, he is worse than Beane, likely a lot worse. We all know if Belichick goes anywhere, he'll be the one doing both. Thus a NO from me.

I think he is gone but how that happens is still up in the air. For starters having this story leak, and it pretty much had to come from the Krafts, has to make BB pretty steamed. I think in an ideal world Kraft would love BB to just retire. And I think that is a possibility. At 71 does he really want to start over somewhere else? He really doesn't need to pass Shula in wins to be the consensus goat. 6 titles as HC and 2 as DC is a pretty strong resume.

But if he does want to continue he and Kraft are going to need to work together to iron that out. Kraft may much prefer to trade Bill than fire him. Not just because he gets a return on the guy and he doesn't have to pay part or all of his remaining contract but also because it's bad PR for him to have let the goat QB go and then fire the goat coach. But if Bill doesn't want to go where Kraft wants to trade him he can make it messy.

Doubtful Bill would agree to go to a team that cannot win right away. He needs like 30 more wins to pass Shula, he's not signing up for another 5 years with a team like say the Bears or Carolina. And I'm not sure he would balk at not being GM. As long as he had final say on who's on the roster he might welcome a reduction in duties at 71, depending of course on who the GM is. So I think there's a lot TBD.

SD makes sense for Bill in a lot of ways but Spanos does not like to pay coaches. The money isn't going to be there.

Washington would be my guess right now. They have a new stadium to fill and the owner would be able to sell BB to the fans. He'd give him whatever he wants. It's east coast which is what Bill is and Bill is comfortable with the NFCE. The QB is questionable at best but Bill may think he can crank 10 wins a year out for 3 years there, pass Shula and declare victory.

[Woodman]

Next stop Chargers. I wouldn't count out Tipper throwing a bag at him in Carolina either.

Money talks !!

[DetoxTent]

Patriots, Bill Belichick to part ways after season, according to NBC report - SBNation.com (https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2023/12/12/23999253/bill-belichick-new-england-patriots-nfl)
Now, according to at least one report, the team and the coach are set to part ways at the end of the season. According to Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston (https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/insiders/tom-curran/), the decision was made by owner Robert Kraft after an embarrassing loss to the Indianapolis Colts (https://www.stampedeblue.com/) in Germany, a loss that highlighted subpar play at the quarterback position. Here’s Curran’s full report:

Well, seeing as Belichick doesn't play QB, firing him isn't going to fix that problem. He did just fine for over 20 years with Brady and Bledsoe. So parting ways with him because Zappe and Jones are no good sounds patently silly.

[Mace]

His extension runs through 2024. They have Jerod Mayo in the coaching pipeline and 76 mil available in cap space atm, with very nice picks coming up in the draft. I think it's likely they announce 2024 is his last year and he's turning over the reins to whoever.

[Woodman]

If they are drafting a QB 1st they'll likely make the switch after this season jmo.

If they don't have their sights on a particular QB prospect .... they may very well wait till the end of next season .... of course it depends on if that's agreeable to both sides.

[jamze132]

They so dumb they'll likely hire josh McDaniels

I’d love it!

[Forward_Lateral]

I hope they suck for 28 years in a row

[Chet]

It would be nice to see BB go back to NY and break Shula's record where it all started for him (or at least, where he seriously started making a name for himself)

[cas22]

the Pats will be almost 80 mil under the cap next year, I think Kraft lets the hoody have 1 more go at it..

[Bill Cody]

the Pats will be almost 80 mil under the cap next year, I think Kraft lets the hoody have 1 more go at it..

Anything's possible but I doubt it very much. BB and Kraft have never been close. It's been strictly a business partnership. That was fine when they were a dynasty but now not so much. It's also hard to be a lame duck coach and no way Kraft extends Bill.

[Jimkelly12203]

Is he going to take Ernie Adams with him?

Of course! He wouldn’t be an effective cheater without his idiot savant. Just a bad cheater.

[Bill Cody]

Is he going to take Ernie Adams with him?

Ernie retired a few years ago

[notacon]

NE is due for a complete overhaul from all coaches to GM (especially in the drafting organization) including players.

Bill messed up by not leaving after Tom Brady did. I guess he thought he would show us all that he could still win without the GOAT. EPIC FAIL!!! Tom Brady knew that he could win another SB without Bill.

It should be a very attractive destination for the best GM and HC candidates.

Good, solid, stable, supportive ownership with a franchise that is one of the richest in the NFL. Remember, there is no cap on coaches and staff salaries.

Probably a top three 2024 pick to grab a QB to build with. It's still going to take a couple/few years to overhaul the roster.

I'm sure going to relish watching the once mighty Pats try to get out of the ****ter.

[OpIv37]

NE is due for a complete overhaul from all coaches to GM (especially in the drafting organization) including players.

Bill messed up by not leaving after Tom Brady did. I guess he thought he would show us all that he could still win without the GOAT. EPIC FAIL!!! Tom Brady knew that he could win another SB without Bill.

It should be a very attractive destination for the best GM and HC candidates.

Good, solid, stable, supportive ownership with a franchise that is one of the richest in the NFL. Remember, there is no cap on coaches and staff salaries.

Probably a top three 2024 pick to grab a QB to build with. It's still going to take a couple/few years to overhaul the roster.

I'm sure going to relish watching the once mighty Pats try to get out of the ****ter.

Neither BB nor Brady were successful before they got together. Brady wasn't even a starter for most of his college career. There's a reason he lasted until the 6th round in the draft.

I always thought Brady was a system QB and BB made his career, but obviously the last few years have proven that wrong. Brady had three good years in TB without BB, whereas the coach has done progressively worse each season without Brady.

And yes, it will be fun to watch them be a complete **** show for a few years while they rebuild. It will be interesting to see what happens with their "fans." That team was the redheaded stepchild of Boston sports after the Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics. The "fans" didn't show up until they started winning. Let's see how many stick around now that they're losing. From what I hear, that stadium is a ***** to get in and out of, so my guess is that attendance and ratings are going to plummet, if they haven't already.

It always struck me as odd. The Red Sox were the Yankees' *****es for 80+ years and the Boston fans stuck by them. But the same people only care about the Patriots when they're the best team in football.

[Bill Cody]

Neither BB nor Brady were successful before they got together. Brady wasn't even a starter for most of his college career. There's a reason he lasted until the 6th round in the draft.

I always thought Brady was a system QB and BB made his career, but obviously the last few years have proven that wrong. Brady had three good years in TB without BB, whereas the coach has done progressively worse each season without Brady.

And yes, it will be fun to watch them be a complete **** show for a few years while they rebuild. It will be interesting to see what happens with their "fans." That team was the redheaded stepchild of Boston sports after the Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics. The "fans" didn't show up until they started winning. Let's see how many stick around now that they're losing. From what I hear, that stadium is a ***** to get in and out of, so my guess is that attendance and ratings are going to plummet, if they haven't already.

It always struck me as odd. The Red Sox were the Yankees' *****es for 80+ years and the Boston fans stuck by them. But the same people only care about the Patriots when they're the best team in football.

It's kind of a ridiculous argument that BB is nothing without Brady. You could pretty much say that about ANY "great" coach. Is Andy Reid a good coach? Or is it because of Pat Mahomes? Is Bill Walsh a good coach? Or is it because of Joe Montana? Shula and Marino, Landry and Staubach, Noll and Bradshaw, Grant and Tarkenton, you could play that game all day. It's a players league but obviously good coaching matters + 1-3 games a year (which is a lot but you still need talent particularly under center).

IMO BB is still a good but no longer great coach. But most of his troubles are a result of Bill the GM. The Patriots have drafted terribly for a decade. The **** was starting to hit the fan in Brady's last year.

[notacon]

Neither BB nor Brady were successful before they got together. Brady wasn't even a starter for most of his college career. There's a reason he lasted until the 6th round in the draft.

I always thought Brady was a system QB and BB made his career, but obviously the last few years have proven that wrong. Brady had three good years in TB without BB, whereas the coach has done progressively worse each season without Brady.

And yes, it will be fun to watch them be a complete **** show for a few years while they rebuild. It will be interesting to see what happens with their "fans." That team was the redheaded stepchild of Boston sports after the Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics. The "fans" didn't show up until they started winning. Let's see how many stick around now that they're losing. From what I hear, that stadium is a ***** to get in and out of, so my guess is that attendance and ratings are going to plummet, if they haven't already.

It always struck me as odd. The Red Sox were the Yankees' *****es for 80+ years and the Boston fans stuck by them. But the same people only care about the Patriots when they're the best team in football.

What was readily apparent is that Belichick and Brady synergy was uncanny in how it was a perfect meld at the perfect time when the two fed of each other

You are spot on about the Boston fans. I spent a lot of time in Boston and the Boston metropolitan area (Boston is a relatively small city of only 600,000) and out of all the areas in the country I spent time in the people there are close to the most annoying.

You know my opinion of Florida...but my disdain for that area has more to do with their climate, shabby (lack of) cultural classiness and especially their rabidly obnoxious retro politics and less about the regular folks that live there.

Boston area people are just annoying and not great to be around. Their arrogant and rudeness is readily apparent on their roadways. They are viciously aggressive drivers. I mean really noticeably bad.

Their sports fans reflect that same mindset. They are worse than Philadelphia....which is pretty bad.

The area you live in, Baltimore/DC is the polar opposite. Such a wide range mixture of cultures, it is a true melting pot in the best American immigrant tradition.

Other awesome cities that are a pleasure to visit....NYC (fantastic city) Seattle, Denver (one of the best cities in the US), Salt Lake City (LDS people are a kind and caring), Portland, Nashville, Austin, Indianapolis, Little Rock, Minneapolis and Charlotte to name a some of my favorites.

[OpIv37]

What was readily apparent is that Belichick and Brady synergy was uncanny in how it was a perfect meld at the perfect time when the two fed of each other

You are spot on about the Boston fans. I spent a lot of time in Boston and the Boston metropolitan area (Boston is a relatively small city of only 600,000) and out of all the areas in the country I spent time in the people there are close to the most annoying.

You know my opinion of Florida...but my disdain for that area has more to do with their climate, shabby (lack of) cultural classiness and especially their rabidly obnoxious retro politics and less about the regular folks that live there.

Boston area people are just annoying and not great to be around. Their arrogant and rudeness is readily apparent on their roadways. They are viciously aggressive drivers. I mean really noticeably bad.

Their sports fans reflect that same mindset. They are worse than Philadelphia....which is pretty bad.

The area you live in, Baltimore/DC is the polar opposite. Such a wide range mixture of cultures, it is a true melting pot in the best American immigrant tradition.

Other awesome cities that are a pleasure to visit....NYC (fantastic city) Seattle, Denver (one of the best cities in the US), Salt Lake City (LDS people are a kind and caring), Portland, Nashville, Austin, Indianapolis, Little Rock, Minneapolis and Charlotte to name a some of my favorites.

I've only been to Boston once and it was for a work conference so I was mostly spared interactions with the locals. But my freshman year roommate was from Boston so I know the type you are describing. Sometimes his girlfriend would come to visit and they were total Italian American stereotypes. It was like a live performance of My Cousin Vinny with Boston accents.

I've been to NYC and Denver but never any of the other cities you mentioned. We really like Philly, although I'm biased because my family is from there. I hate their sports teams but Pittsburgh is an awesome city. We've spent a few long weekends there and always enjoyed it. Chicago is really cool and very diverse. We got authentic Mexican and Puerto Rican food.

KC was interesting. It was bigger than I thought and all the people were super nice. We went for the Bills' playoff game so it was kinda last minute and we didn't have a ton of time to explore, but we got some great BBQ.

I'm not a fan of Dallas. It's very new and generic. Fort Worth does definitely play up that "western culture" thing and it was interesting.

Newark sucks. It's like someone took 10 of the worst blocks of NYC and dropped them on the other side of the river.

Richmond, VA is actually pretty cool. Of course, it is considered Rochester's sister city since they were both developed around the same time and both have canals running through town, so maybe I'm biased. The only thing I didn't like was that it was the capital of the Confederacy so it's very pro-South. They took them down after Charlottesville, but there used to be a wide street with a median and in the median were huge statues of Confederate generals. It's a bit unsettling if you're from the North. Or Black. Or just not racist.

The weirdest one was Cleveland. There are some good things about it, but the locals could talk about was how bad Cleveland is. In places like Buffalo, Rochester, and Baltimore, I get a vibe from the locals of "Yeah, it's a ****hole, but it's OUR ****hole." The Cleveland vibe was more like "Yeah, it's a ****hole but we're stuck here."

[imbondz]

If Bellichek came here he can cheat all he wants as long as we win a SB.

[Mace]

"Synergy" is the perfect word for what the Belichick/Brady Pats maintained. It of course, cost us heavily, but I'll never cease to be impressed by it and give it its' due.

They drafted Brady to backup Bledsoe, who was then became damaged. They did not turn Brady loose, they let him grow. They started him out with a strong running game in a game management role. That first 14-2 regular season, they had something like the 15th passing attack, and 4th rushing attack by yards in the league, Brady had 23 td's, 12 int's. They gradually let him loose, transitioning into a passing attack. People forget, a long time ago, Brady said he wasn't the most skilled QB in the game, and he made up for it by working that much harder at the game.

There is also coaching synergy. Charlie Weis was the guy then. Much is made of former Pats coaches falling on their faces, and it's truth, but they all had synergy with the HC and players in that system. Through their run, their coaching staff and front office staff were continuously pillaged by teams trying to recreate the model, so finally they ran out of Brady and their best staff and the synergy fell flat. I'm not sure what anyone could do with Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe without a Gronkowski, Edelman, Welker, etc. Well, they didn't get new ones...true....they also lost a lot of front office.

I think it takes them 2 years. Nothing wrong with their defense besides being continuously handicapped by their offense. The draft is critical, and they have plenty of FA cash.

I still believe they go with Belichick through another year, and Mayo becomes assistant head coach to take over in 2025.

[notacon]

"Synergy" is the perfect word for what the Belichick/Brady Pats maintained. It of course, cost us heavily, but I'll never cease to be impressed by it and give it its' due.

They drafted Brady to backup Bledsoe, who was then became damaged. They did not turn Brady loose, they let him grow. They started him out with a strong running game in a game management role. That first 14-2 regular season, they had something like the 15th passing attack, and 4th rushing attack by yards in the league, Brady had 23 td's, 12 int's. They gradually let him loose, transitioning into a passing attack. People forget, a long time ago, Brady said he wasn't the most skilled QB in the game, and he made up for it by working that much harder at the game.

There is also coaching synergy. Charlie Weis was the guy then. Much is made of former Pats coaches falling on their faces, and it's truth, but they all had synergy with the HC and players in that system. Through their run, their coaching staff and front office staff were continuously pillaged by teams trying to recreate the model, so finally they ran out of Brady and their best staff and the synergy fell flat. I'm not sure what anyone could do with Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe without a Gronkowski, Edelman, Welker, etc. Well, they didn't get new ones...true....they also lost a lot of front office.

I think it takes them 2 years. Nothing wrong with their defense besides being continuously handicapped by their offense. The draft is critical, and they have plenty of FA cash.

I still believe they go with Belichick through another year, and Mayo becomes assistant head coach to take over in 2025.

Nice post.

No one thought that Brady would "grow" (spot on word Mace) into what he became. Just like no one thought Purdy would (so far) grow into what he (apparently) is.

The one guy that has extremely credible insight into the issues with drafted QB's is Ryan Leaf. He is on GMFB regularly and, after a very trying life (that included addiction issues and some jail time) his 100% self-aware reflection brings a unique perspective of the difficulties of developing QB drafted in the first round.

As Ryan preaches all the time, in so many ways, bringing along a QB drafted #199 overall or "Mr Irrelevant" is on a different planet than one drafted #1, #2 or #7 overall (or anywhere in the 1st round for that matter....as Ryan points out even a second round QB has a LOT less pressure on him and more room to "grow" as compared to 1st round). The scrutiny, pressure and oversized expectations are crushingly immense and as we see from history, only about 50% of the QB's drafted in the first round become useful starters much less superstars.

That burden depends on BOTH the emotional and character make up of the QB and the coaches around him.

Brian Daboll and yes, Sean McDermott are to be commended for not only NOT ruining Josh Allen but surrounded him with that "synergy" that is as critical as it is fleeting.

The question now is if Joe Brady (if his OC job become permanent) and McD "let him loose" as he is absolutely ready to do so being in his sixth season.

We will probably know a lot more on if that is happening in real time over the next number of weeks.

[notacon]

I've only been to Boston once and it was for a work conference so I was mostly spared interactions with the locals. But my freshman year roommate was from Boston so I know the type you are describing. Sometimes his girlfriend would come to visit and they were total Italian American stereotypes. It was like a live performance of My Cousin Vinny with Boston accents.

I've been to NYC and Denver but never any of the other cities you mentioned. We really like Philly, although I'm biased because my family is from there. I hate their sports teams but Pittsburgh is an awesome city. We've spent a few long weekends there and always enjoyed it. Chicago is really cool and very diverse. We got authentic Mexican and Puerto Rican food.

KC was interesting. It was bigger than I thought and all the people were super nice. We went for the Bills' playoff game so it was kinda last minute and we didn't have a ton of time to explore, but we got some great BBQ.

I'm not a fan of Dallas. It's very new and generic. Fort Worth does definitely play up that "western culture" thing and it was interesting.

Newark sucks. It's like someone took 10 of the worst blocks of NYC and dropped them on the other side of the river.

Richmond, VA is actually pretty cool. Of course, it is considered Rochester's sister city since they were both developed around the same time and both have canals running through town, so maybe I'm biased. The only thing I didn't like was that it was the capital of the Confederacy so it's very pro-South. They took them down after Charlottesville, but there used to be a wide street with a median and in the median were huge statues of Confederate generals. It's a bit unsettling if you're from the North. Or Black. Or just not racist.

The weirdest one was Cleveland. There are some good things about it, but the locals could talk about was how bad Cleveland is. In places like Buffalo, Rochester, and Baltimore, I get a vibe from the locals of "Yeah, it's a ****hole, but it's OUR ****hole." The Cleveland vibe was more like "Yeah, it's a ****hole but we're stuck here."
Oh, you bring up more cities that I agree with (like I said....I just named some of my favs).

Chicago is an amazing city. Not as great as NYC, but it has a vibe all it's own.


I can't believe I forgot to mention Pittsburgh. Great city that showed how some good (and difficult) decisions by city leaders (as compared to Buffalo) has it a vibrant 21st century metropolis. Much of that is seen with their TWO stadiums right next to downtown. Unlike Buffalo's terrible cheapskate decision 50 years to put the crappy stadium in the middle of nowhere in the snowbelt. It's compounded by building the new one right next to the old.

I get what you are saying about Cleveland. Weird city. But, then again, Ohio is a weird state. It is worth a trip there just to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Being able to see some amazing Beatles memorabilia like original hand written lyrics is worth the trip (and putting up with Cleveland :D:)....

https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/pjimage-4-1.jpg?resize=1000,563