https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39285303/bill-belichick-leaving-patriots-24-seasons-sources-say
Bill Belichick and the Patriots are expected to part ways Thursday after a remarkable 24 seasons together, ending an unmatched run in NFL history that included six Super Bowl titles, league sources told ESPN.
I thought they would have taken away his GM rights and gotten another QB first, then see if he still floundered.
But with so many backup and average QBs finding success this year, and Vrabel becoming available, it was time.
As a fan of a division rival, I am thrilled. Get this man out of the division and hopefully out of the conference. I consider him the best coach of all time - even better than Shula. Unlike Shula, Belichick built his first dynasty in the era of free agency and a salary cap, although that came to be a benefit later when good players started going there on veteran minimum deals.
Aaron Hernandez, deflategate and spygate aside - and, yes, they are big ones - the Patriots under Belichick were an organization with class and sportsmanship. You always knew you were in for a tough, physical game, but they played fair and showed respect to opponents. You were never concerned that they were out there trying to injure somebody. You never looked at them on the schedule, dreading the game because it would be full of cheap shots.
I remember that rivalry with Peyton Manning and the Colts. The Patriots would put a hit on a guy and then help him up.
There’s all this talk about how Belichick didn’t win anything without Brady. There’s no way either one of them wins that many Super Bowls without each other. Brady is the best quarterback of all time - probably the best football player of all time - and Belichick is the greatest defensive mind the game of football has ever seen.
I don’t expect to ever see a tandem like those two or an organization like the Patriots again in my lifetime.
He studied the history of the league well. He had said at one point that some of the great coaches cheated and it's always been a part of the game.
I believe that. Personally, I consider Gregg Williams to be the worst or at least among the worst. It's one thing to look for an edge within the grey area or beyond and it's another to try to take players out of the game. I was looking around for other cheaters and found a lot more than I expected. Don Shula is in there plenty.
Honestly I don't want him to go. I might be in the minority of pats fans but the latter half of this season has shown that he can still coach a great defense. I would've been much happier if they brought in a GM and Bill had less to say on the offensive side of drafting. Who are we going to get that's better than BB?? Only person I'd be ok with is Vrabel. But I'm not sure if Vrabel can get to the AFC championship game again. Maybe I'm expecting too much right after the end of the greatest dynasty in NFL history...
Same. I wanted no part in him moving on. If he was ready to retire, fine, but the media pressure to instantly rebuild are insane and unrealistic. Nobody builds a real sustainable contender in 3 years. The teams that appear to tend to have several years of premium picks for the new "instant turnaround" GM to keep during their house cleaning. Yes, the offense imploded, because the line sucked. Obviously there needs to be investment there this offseason. But the defense has loads of talent at all three levels (admittedly counting hybrid safety as LB) and you don't have the resources to do everything at once. When you have a lot of needs, taking the far better prospect (all 3 top 3 guys in the last draft) is better than wasting resources overpaying for a lesser one. None of your draft picks were about last year. Invest in the line in FA and you're not in bad shape to win with defense.
I want Mayo. He's the guy. I'd take Vrabel. I'd be OK with Kellen Moore, because I think he did good things and some of the weird big picture decisions in terms of playcalling approach were dictated by bad HCs with bad plans. But I want Mayo. I like our defenses with him at the head (understanding that distributing contributions is super hard), and I think he's a really promising candidate. As much as I didn't want to lose Bill, "Mayo's getting a HC job this year, so we're going to make the move now to make sure we have him here" is just about the only rationale behind the move I could get behind.
I'm scared BoB has a chance. I'd love to keep him on as OC, rebuild the line, and bring in a veteran QB to compete with Mac in camp. (No, Zappe isn't competition. Benching Mac was throwing in the towel. He can't make reads or throws.) I don't really want to take a QB at 3 unless you're convinced that he's an elite elite prospect, because without blocking you'll just break him. Mac broke down as the season went on because he couldn't reliably get through three step drops without getting hit, and you'll have the same issue with anyone.
I completely forgot about Mayo! Yes honestly if Mayo is ready, pairing him with a great GM and scout team might be the best way to move forward.
thats corporate speak for "we still have to pay his contract through 2025 and this is better optics"
It's pretty atypical to keep a coach on that you're firing. I'm wondering if Pete is just retiring, since clearly they don't want to overhaul his system.
I'd much rather bring up Mayo.
For a defensive coach, his defenses are way more interesting.
He'd be a good one too.
New England is sitting pretty good.
High draft pick to develop and a plethora of good coaches to choose from.
Him and Tom Brady should open a coffee shop in the Lower East-Side.
Maybe Netflix will tape it.
Love him or hate him, can't deny he's part of NFL history already. I can see teams interested in hiring him as HC - old and everything, but he's still freaking BB, after all, a defensive genius - but not let him work as a GM anymore. Who knows if he's willing to accept these conditions now.
If he ends up going to the Chargers and then my Broncos have to play him and Andy Reid twice a year, I'm gonna shit a brick.
Although he wouldn't go to Sea because Carroll is still advising I would love for him to go because of the irony & if we start beating the shit out SF again....ah man...that would be so great