The New England Patriots landed in a place that has been completely foreign to them for over two decades. As the 2023 season came to a close, the franchise found itself in last place in the AFC East for the first time since 2000 and arguably the worst team in the entire AFC. For Bill Belichick, it was the worst season of his head coaching career and has now led to both sides parting after 24 seasons. So, what now? What does the future in Foxborough look like in a post-Belichick world? Well, Robert Kraft will have his work cut out for him.
Remember, the Patriots are now not only looking for a new head coach, but they also need a GM as Belichick also served as the head of the front office as well. With that in mind, we’ll be filling two jobs with the assumption that New England opts for a more traditional masthead of one GM and one head coach as we start to picture what the organization will look like in Week 1 of the 2024 season.
Let’s take a look at a couple of paths that Kraft could go down now that he has parted ways with Belichick after this season and highlight some candidates for both jobs (top candidates marked in bold).
Familiar options
Jerod Mayo (head coach candidate)Mike Vrabel (head coach candidate)Brian Flores (head coach candidate)Matt Groh (GM candidate)Nick Caserio (GM candidate)Dave Ziegler (GM candidate)Jon Robinson (GM candidate)
While we’ll get into a more out-of-the-box road Kraft could go down as he restructures his organization post-Belichick, he realistically might already have the pieces in place. Last offseason, the Patriots came out with an unprecedented statement that, in part, revealed that the team was in discussions with linebackers coach Jerod Mayo on an extension. Mayo, who has been a defensive play-caller for the Patriots for the last handful of years, has been pegged as a potential successor to Belichick with Kraft himself even saying this offseason that he…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/patriots-part-ways-with-bill-belichick-ranking-top-replacements-to-fill-legendary-coachs-shoes/
Author : Tyler Sullivan
Publish date : 2024-01-11 12:51:30
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