The Possible Future of Bill Belichick

By Steve Atkinson

It has been 24 years since Bill Belichick last coached in the NFL. However, he will now transition to the media, making appearances on Inside The NFL, The Manning Cast, and the Pat McAfee show.

Robert Kraft Fired Belichick

Many believe that Belichick is disappointed with Robert Kraft regarding their departure. It is widely known that Kraft fired Belichick, rather than the two parting ways. Belichick’s current job status may be influenced by how he handled the quarterback situation and the offense after Tom Brady left. It seems that Belichick may no longer be suitable for a general manager role, and may be better suited to coaching defense with strong offensive support.

The 2022 season with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge was a disaster and put other teams on notice this past off-season. They didn’t want a coach who would bring in his friends who have failed as head coaches, such as Josh McDaniels, Matt Patricia, and Joe Judge.

The Failure Of Mac Jones Was On The Head Coach

The failure of Mac Jones was solely on Bill Belichick because of ego. Former teammates have said it, Robert Kraft thinks it, and even people around Mac think it. No team trusts Belichick with a young quarterback anymore. Here is a recent quote from Damien Harris on a podcast:

“What happened to Mac Jones in New England was not because of Mac Jones. What happened in New England to Mac Jones was because of the fact you took away an offensive coordinator who coached him to be a Pro Bowler and almost coached us to winning our division with a rookie quarterback in his first year,” he added. Now Mac Jones is in Jacksonville,” Harris said.

What would Belichick need to succeed today? A good elite quarterback, which he had for twenty years but didn’t want to pay him. He’ll need quarterbacks like Dak Prescott, Josh Allen, and Jalen Hurts, who have an established quarterback in a good functional offense. He won’t be able to bring his buddies, because those teams already have an established offense.

Bill Wouldn’t Be Able To Bring His Friends With Him To A New Team

I wouldn’t trust Matt Patricia with a ten-foot pole if I were an NFL team. I don’t care that he coached the defense and won Super Bowls; Tom Brady was the quarterback of those teams. Maybe he would put his ego aside and be more open to the modern-day NFL in 2025. The Patriots didn’t draft defense until the last round. Belichick wouldn’t have done that. He would’ve drafted a kicker, punter, and someone on defense. Maybe the time off for him can be self reflection and then come back with a clear head in 2025. Let the  GM and offensive coordinator control the offense and he can control the defense and special teams.

Now, the Patriots can stick it to Belichick if they succeed with Drake Maye and develop him the right way. Also, Belichick could go to another team and succeed with an established quarterback. Which would prove he can’t develop one and should’ve just kept Brady in 2020. Then hand the reigns over to Jerod Mayo in 2021 or 2022 and rebuild it from there. But nope Belichick’s ego got in the way and here we are. The Patriots could show Belichick up by successfully developing Drake Maye the right way. On the other hand, he might find success with an established quarterback on another team, which would suggest that he struggled to develop a new quarterback and should have stuck with Brady in 2020. Perhaps he should have let Jerod Mayo take over in 2021 or 2022 and rebuild from there. Instead, Belichick’s ego got in the way and here we are.