For the New England Patriots, the timing of it all seems off. Earlier in the season, an unprovoked announcement of a contract extension for the head coach raised eyebrows. Earlier, as the New England Patriots faced a Colts team in Germany, there were murmurs of a win needed for job security. Then today, a report is out, that those murmurs were in fact substantiated sentiments in the building. This news, is coming fresh off of the much talked about Pat McAfee interaction with owner Robert Kraft from the Army versus Navy College GameDay. Why is this being released now? And is this the right move for the New England Patriots to make at this point?
New England Patriots Civil War Of the Fanbase
Since the departure of Tom Brady, fans have been torn. Two of the last three years have been losing seasons, and even in the one playoff year, they have not really looked to threaten a deep postseason run. Did Brady deserve the majority of credit, who deserves the blame for Mac Jones, could Belichick be brought back in only a coaching capacity?
One thing that seemed like an agreed foregone conclusion, is that any decision one way or another, would wait until the end of the season itself. This turned out to not be true, as shocking news came from reporter Tom Curran, saying that the decision to let go of Bill Belichick had been well established during the week of the international trip to Germany.
They were going to play out the string, and at the end of the year there would be a parting of the ways, for a variety of reasons.
While most would not have been surprised to hear of the New England Patriots organization electing to move in a different direction, the timing of this report, coming to public light with four games left to be played seems awfully coincidental.
New England Patriots Testing Public Opinion
It is possible, that the Krafts saw the moment from GameDay as being caught off guard in the moment. But by allowing a reporter to release this information now, they will have a chance to see how New England Patriots fans would actually react to Belichick leaving the organization, and get a sense of the public backlash. If they change their mind, there is plenty of room for plausible deniability.
With this dry run of a franchise changing announcement, is this actually what is best for the future of this franchise?
New England Patriots Without Belichick
Every fan wants their team to win, this is especially true for the owner. An owner whose inner circle of friends is likely giving him a hard time over how the team is looking, and the coach being washed. The biggest issue without Belichick on the staff for the New England Patriots is, who will be able to successfully replace the coach, and take over the GM duties?
In the collective bargaining era, no team is going to be able to match the dynastic success of the early 2000s Patriots. We are seeing now, that teams are entirely dependent on having good quarterback play, and that you also need a capable starter as a backup.
Once an organization was discovered their much needed QB, any non rookie quarterback deal eats too much into the cap, leaving depth and other team needs depleted.
The one thing that is very hard to replicate, is having a coach that the players will give their full effort for, regardless of score or record.
Patriots' safety Jabrill Peppers on victory over Steelers: Felt good to get a win for Bill Belichickhttps://t.co/gacE5nntTz pic.twitter.com/Ys4WCYxsMd
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) December 8, 2023
Belichick’s main strength, the defensive side of the ball has played well most of the season and is still among the league best. The issues are on offense. Mac Jones needs a fresh start for himself somewhere else.
The New England Patriots need to then decide how to go about upgrading the offensive side of the ball. Every year, there are plenty of underrated talents that are proving to be capable NFL starters, now, more so than ever. Whether using their first pick, a later pick, or making a trade, they will probably need to look to get a couple of difference makers at the quarterback position for next year.
With players like Matthew Slater and Peppers still playing, looking forward to enduring a grueling process under Belichick, here’s hoping the the most recent reports turn out to be a misunderstanding, or words taken out of context.