FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It’s a wild, but true statement — Bill Belichick is no longer the head coach of the New England Patriots. The franchise has decided to mutually part ways with the legendary head coach, marking the end of a 24-year tenure largely headlined by a prolific run of success including all six of the franchise’s Super Bowl titles. However, the sluggish final seasons of Belichick’s tenure ultimately resulted in where the franchise finds itself today: without a head coach (and GM).
This decision comes after the worst season of Belichick’s career as the Patriots went 4-13, which was the worst record in the AFC and found them in last place in the AFC East for the first time since 2000. Their regular season record, points per game (13.9), and total yards per game (276.2) were all the lowest for the franchise since 1992. It’s the very definition of rock bottom to what has been a Lombardi standard in New England.
How did the Patriots and Belichick get here? What led to such a dramatic fall from grace?
While you can point to several things — the departure of Tom Brady in 2020, the curious decision to hand the offense over to Matt Patricia and Joe Judge in 2022, etc. — there’s a very simple explanation to why the Patriots find themselves where they’re at: They lack talent. High-end talent. That’s on Belichick, who has been the team’s de facto general manager throughout his tenure.
This is where, to steal a reference from Bill Parcells, allowing the coach to shop for the groceries went haywire, or at least it has in this case with the Patriots. Bill Belichick the GM has made life very difficult for Bill Belichick the coach, and ultimately cost him his job.
No matter what avenues the Patriots have gone down in recent years, they’ve tripped over themselves trying to bring in high-end talent. At the NFL Draft, the Patriots have been unable to identify foundational…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/patriots-part-ways-with-bill-belichick-how-belichick-the-gm-cost-the-coach-his-job/
Author : Tyler Sullivan
Publish date : 2024-01-11 18:02:59
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