NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
Transition of Power: Inside the end of the Belichick Era originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Tom Curran on Bill Belichick and the Patriots parting ways
It wasn’t supposed to end like this.
In a perfect world, it would have ended in January of 2025 or later. Ideally, when Bill Belichick decided to end it.
The final scene should have featured Belichick being carried off the field, owning the record for career coaching wins, not a dry eye in the house, including his.
Instead, it ends with angst. With the Patriots broken down on the side of the road, hood popped, steam pouring from the engine and Belichick thumbing for a ride.
You can’t count on perfect. But nobody counted on this.
The Patriots plummeting to the NFL’s cellar, their roster in disrepair, Belichick out of answers and headed out of town. Three years of saber-rattling from owner Robert Kraft culminated in the team parting ways with Belichick on Thursday.
Based on expectations publicly set by Kraft and his unmasked disappointment at the team’s direction before this season, what option did he have?
We always thought there was a hard floor for Belichick’s Patriots. He set the bar so high. The Patriots’ best was untouchable. Their average was elite. And their really bad – like 2022 – was league average. They’d never be awful. Not on Bill’s watch. But they were.
The first 10 games of 2023 — a 2-8 start with blowout embarrassments against the Cowboys and Saints — sealed Belichick’s fate. After losing those two games by a combined 72-3, Belichick said the Patriots would “start over.” They then lost to the Las Vegas Raiders, 21-17.
A dizzying, 29-25 win over the Bills felt like a breath of fresh air for Belichick, Mac Jones and the fans. It was a last gasp.
The Bills win was chased by the sixth loss in seven meetings with Miami and a nut-crushing home loss to the Commanders. The capper was a humiliating, 10-6 loss to the Colts in Germany. The image of owner Robert Kraft in a puffy, black…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/transition-power-inside-end-belichick-135247989.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2024-01-11 14:08:47
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
