Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick stood in front of a sold-out auditorium at Gillette Stadium on Jan. 11, smiling and excitedly reminiscing about their relationship with New England. The best memories of the New England Patriots’ historic 24 years in the league.
The team owner and coach’s joint run-in has just ended, which is a good time to split. But if there’s any reservation, it’s Kraft’s mention of how difficult it is to see Belichick “wearing a raw-hem hoodie on the sidelines” with another team.
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The idea felt inevitable at the time, with the Patriots one of eight teams with vacancies and the most successful coach on the market in the NFL. Belichick, who has 333 career wins and is 15 shy of breaking Don Shula’s record, would seem to be an obvious draw to ownership — aside from his coaching acumen, of course. outside.
However, little has changed in this view. The remaining coaching vacancies were filled this week, and it appears Belichick won’t be on an NFL sideline for the first time in half a century.
Despite the positive impact Belichick could bring to a new franchise, numerous sources around the league, who granted anonymity in order to speak without retaliation, cited some of the reasons why the legendary coach remains unemployed. , and it’s not just the fact that he’s unemployed. About to turn 72.
The Atlanta Falcons were the only known suitors to have serious interest, but they hired Raheem Morris after interviewing Belichick several times.
At one point, Belichick and the Falcons appeared to be building momentum for the partnership in public. However, sources close to both parties expressed caution throughout the proposal.
Belichick has been trying to tell people for a week that Belichick going to the Falcons was never a sure thing. Both sides are gathering information about the other and are willing to see where it leads, while the Falcons intend to keep their options open. https://t.co/0Nu0PqOWGH
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) January 25, 2024
Each of them is on a fact-finding mission to determine whether the organization’s power structure is fit to sustain the success of Belichick, who has become accustomed to complete control of football operations and Falcons owner Arthur Brann Kremlin is prepared to keep his leadership structure intact.
Sources close to Belichick also cited the frosty relationship with Falcons president Rich McKay as a major reason the two sides may decide they can or should not work together.
One has reason to wonder why Belichick doesn’t just put his head down, adapt to another team’s way of running things, focus on coaching, rack up another 15-plus wins, and then retire with a monopoly on significant coaching records.
But if Belichick isn’t going all-in on Kraft about ways to reverse the Patriots’ recent misfortunes, he certainly won’t be doing it for a relative stranger. League sources believe Kraft may be willing to keep Belichick for another season if the coach commits to certain changes in personnel department, roster construction and offensive vision, but Belichick is accustomed to a specific approach. Won’t give in that far. .
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It’s also important as it relates to the Falcons’ mutual fact-finding mission, and the fact that the Falcons aren’t the only team in the coaching market.
But most importantly, the Falcons are selling Morris outright, according to league sources. Belichick’s resume will outshine any coach’s — both on the recruiting trail and historically — but his past accomplishments are more important to the Falcons than what they think Morris can bring to the future. It’s not that important to say.
When the Falcons hired Morris, only the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders had openings. At the time, league sources said there was little chance either organization would consider Belichick, and even then the odds seemed long.
Many league sources agree on three main reasons: Belichick’s mishandling of the Patriots’ quarterback situation in recent years, his desire to retain complete control of football operations, and growing concerns about coaches dealing with this generation of players Ability.
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As a quarterback, people around the league still don’t understand how Belichick let Tom Brady leave in free agency, but the lack of a succession plan is almost as confusing. Belichick went the budget route with Cam Newton in 2020 and drafted Mac Jones in the first round in 2021, but failed to develop him to almost every measurable degree he.
Jones has had three offensive coordinators in three seasons, including Belichick’s decision to hire longtime defensive coach Matt Patricia in 2022, which was nearly universally criticized in league circles. The team’s offensive structure is poor, the lines are uneven, and most of the players are technically unqualified. Belichick’s public distancing from Jones also soured executives on opposing teams.
Those questions have decision-makers wondering whether Belichick can build an offense without Brady or is patient enough to develop a young quarterback.
Power structures are another red flag. Belichick has been fiercely loyal to his coaching confidants and like-minded personnel executives throughout his career, and those ties can be traced back to the Patriots’ deteriorating record in recent seasons — again, especially with Jean Pa. When Trisha attacks.
Sources from multiple teams that just hired new head coaches have expressed varying degrees of relief that Belichick is not joining their staff. Some worry Belichick will overhaul the leadership structure and order of command.
Others, especially those on the draft side, heard stories from Patriots scouts and felt their opinions had no sway over Belichick. His draft record has come under intense scrutiny over the past decade, and word has spread throughout the league that he repeatedly vetoed key draft decisions from the personnel department. There is concern, especially among Scouts who spend a lot of time on the road away from their families, that they are wasting their time.
The way players want to be coached has also changed. Many current players want a human relationship with their coach, often feeling that it allows them to perform at their best seven days a week, and they prefer to feel empowered by their coach.
The latest wave of new-age coaches are less authoritarian, demanding that players do whatever they say simply because they are their bosses. Athletes want to know why they’re doing what they’re doing, whether it’s a lifting schedule or schematic technique, and coaches who can get their message across in this way become more attractive.
While league brass believe Belichick can still lead a defense in this day and age — and they say the Patriots’ approach to the game still showcases revolutionary ideas — concerns about the offense’s approach have outweighed those of the defensive coach. worries.
History tells us that the success rate of the eight employees recruited in this round will not be very high. There is a saying in the industry that there are only two types of coaches: coaches who have been fired and coaches who will be fired. Time will likely determine whether these teams regret bypassing Belichick, whether he gets another chance on the sidelines to prove he can still do it, or with these teams’ first-choice personnel being replaced on short notice. Replacement and gradual retirement.
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Regardless of the outcome, there’s enough confidence that Belichick won’t be on most of their shortlists due to his performance over the past four years. They cited many of the same reasons Kraft and the Patriots chose to replace Belichick with Jerod Mayo.
That’s why Belichick will likely have to wait at least a year before he gets another chance to lead the team.
(Photo: Brian M. Bennett/Getty Images)
