With all coaching jobs filled, Bill Belichick is left jobless
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What’s next for Bill Belichick?
Bill Belichick is one of the greatest and most successful coaches in the history of the NFL. His accomplishments speak for themselves:
Most Super Bowl wins (6)
Most Super Bowl appearances (9)
Most playoff wins (31)
Most playoff appearances (19)
Most division championships (17)
3rd all-time in wins (302)
3-time AP NFL Coach of the Year
NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team selection
Despite his accomplishments, he has been seeming to lose his way as of late. Especially since the departure of quarterback Tom Brady from New England after the 2019 season. A huge debate has argued whether it was Belichick or Brady who was most responsible for the success of the Patriots’ nearly two decades of dominance. The numbers seem to support the side of Brady. With Brady as his quarterback, Belichick has a record of 249-75 (.769 win percentage). Without Brady, Belichick’s record is 83-104 (.449), this also takes into account his previous coaching stint in Cleveland during the early to mid-90s.
This has caused a massive hit to his legacy, as the results simply have not been there without Brady at the helm.
After a few seasons of mediocrity following Brady’s departure, the Patriots finished with a 4-13 record, the worst in the AFC and their worst since the 1992-1993 season where they had a mark of 2-14. This led him and the Patriots to part ways after the season had ended.
Why he didn’t land another head coaching gig
He looked to be primed to take the Atlanta Falcons job after having multiple meetings with the team, Atlanta opted to go with Raheem Morris instead. Belichick had also been linked to the Chargers and Commanders at points, yet those teams also went in different directions.
There could be a variety of reasons why he was unable to secure a head coaching job elsewhere this offseason.
For one, you could look at how he has handled the quarterback situation in recent seasons. The supreme and glaring lack of development of quarterback Mac Jones is a good place to start. For one, Jones had to deal with three different offensive coordinators in as many seasons. Jones being benched multiple times within that span wasn’t much help either. Jones was in situations where he was unable to truly progress, while also potentially severely hampering his confidence on the field, leading to subpar play.
You could also look at how Belichick likes to have control over all personnel decisions as well. He likes to construct rosters in his image, which has led to rosters that were not built to win now, which is always Belichick’s goal. Not to mention the lack of success in drafting players, whether it be drafting players in decisions that could be seen as head-scratching, or missing out on much better players.
The main key to Belichick’s success, what is known as the “Patriot Way” is probably one of the biggest reasons why. Not relating to players, ruling with an iron fist, and overall being out of touch with the ways of today’s NFL contribute to that.
Next season will be the first season in a very long time where we will not see that legendary hooded figure on the sidelines unless something insane happens in the meantime.