Success in American Football. Bill Belichick has come to define the phrase over the years having won six Super Bowl championships as the head coach of the New England Patriots. He and Tom Brady crafted an exceptional dynasty in the NFL which saw them consistently challenge for glory and dominate the AFC East. Yet… the last few years haven’t been good, at all. Could another poor season get the legendary head coach fired?
We’ve not reached a point yet where the Las Vegas odds suggest he’s going to be one of the first coaches fired this season, but if the Patriots have a losing record and miss the playoffs, what would that really mean for the future?
New Unknowns for Belichick
Bill Belichick has probably never experienced pressure like this since his early days as the Cleveland Browns head coach in the 1990s. Even then, he didn’t have the weight of expectations on his shoulders. It’s truly a new experience for the veteran head coach. Between 2009 and 2019 the New England Patriots only finished first in the AFC East, anything else would be an aberrational position. 2020, 2021, and 2022 all saw them lose ground, finishing as low as third in two of the seasons.
Unfortunately for Belichick, this demise runs parallel to Tom Brady’s departure from Gillette Stadium. He spent the last three seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and even won the Super Bowl during that time while Belichick scrambled to find a new quarterback. Cam Newton and Mac Jones have been the fall guys thus far, as the franchise has been unable to cultivate the glory days without Brady.
Coach of the Year candidate?
There is a reality that Bill Belichick returns to form, takes New England back to the apex of the NFL and contends to be the Coach of the Year. After all, he’s not suddenly become terrible or forgot everything about American Football. A lot of his success however will derive from how much he can get out of his pool of players and make them better than the sum of their parts. The undrafted free agent, Malik Cunningham has interestingly linked up with the Pats during the summer. While he has classically been a QB, he’s reportedly been training as a wide receiver to enhance his game.
Of course, this alone won’t be enough for Bill to make the good times return at the franchise but if gets a lot of him across multiple roles it could prove pivotal. Belichick is keeping his options open as he’s refusing to rule out Bailey Zappe as the starting QB, while Mac Jones continues to be the odds-on favorite.
If he gets the best out of them and he’s able to win the Super Bowl then everyone goes back to saying that he’s amazing and the greatest thing to ever happen to the franchise.
Time for everyone to move on…
It’s worth remembering that Belichick is 71 years old. There’s a case for the experienced coach to simply call it a day and enjoy his retirement. Nobody would begrudge him that or have had any ill feelings if he had walked when Brady did. He’s been a more than loyal servant to the franchise since his appointment in 2000.
The problem is that since 2000, a lot has happened. The internet became integral to everyday lives, DVDs came and went, a global pandemic threatened life as we know it and more importantly, the NFL has changed. Belichick for the most part has had his finger on the pulse of it as he continued to develop his team to consistently win or challenge for the Vince Lombardi trophy. However, he might not be able to do it anymore.
It would appear that Belichick will be given the upcoming 2023 season but after this, there may be more calls for him to leave his position should he not succeed. Getting to the playoffs is the bare minimum for a team with the stature and winning caliber of the New England Patriots. Failure to do that will only place more asterisks next to his career, stating he only won because he had Brady by his side.
The break-up doesn’t need to be sore or lack respect. Mutually agreeing at the end of a campaign would be best so that all parties can move on with dignity and preserve the legacy he’s built with the team. It would come as a great surprise if Belichick were to lose his job mid-season as the team should simply have more respect for him than that. Sports however is a fickle business and results matter more than loyalty. The respect may end up going out the window if he goes 0-10 to start the season.
The New England regime may however benefit from a complete rehaul and reboot, after all it’s been the Belichick show for over 20 years now. A fresh outlook may invigorate the franchise with new ideas and how to play football.
