The Brady-Belichick era shouldn't have ended like this

It’s easy to say in hindsight that Bill Belichick and Tom Brady should have rode off into the sunset together after winning Super Bowl LII against the Los Angeles Rams in 2019.  It was their record sixth and final Super Bowl they would win together. Not too shabby.

But it is not easy to quit while you are on top. It is not easy to quit when you know you may have another legitimate shot at a Super Bowl championship. Brady was 41 at the time and married to a supermodel. Belichick was 66 and almost unanimously regarded as the greatest head coach in NFL history.

But big egos can be a divisive thing. Belichick snickered when he said in 2009 at the age of 57 that we would never see him coaching into his 70’s like Buffalo Bills legendary head coach, Marv Levy.

Tom Brady, on the other hand, was promoting his fountain of youth TB12 product line and saying he sees no reason why he couldn't still be playing at 45. His wife, Gisele Bundchen, had other visions for their future. The super couple would divorce in 2022.

Belichick, meanwhile, was chasing Don Shula’s record for most all-time wins by an NFL head coach. With the greatest quarterback of all-time still producing at a high level, it was a virtual certainty that Belichick would get the record in the very near future.

But egos are the devil. Throughout the Patriots’ unprecedented run of two decades of dominance, there was an underlying debate going on as to who was more responsible for the Patriots’ run – Belichick or Brady? Why should it matter? The bottom line is us fans were privileged to be witness to football in January and February on a regular basis. We were privileged to have our team play in the final game of the season nine times in nineteen years. And we were privileged to have been able to participate in six championship parades.

It would have been apropos if Belichick and Brady both announced their retirement following that Super Bowl against the Rams. Their legacies would have been cemented for all-time.

There is no doubt in my mind that Belichick heard the whispers that Brady drove the bus and Belichick was just along for the ride. Belichick has always said he doesn’t listen to sports talk radio. He doesn’t read stories about the Patriots. He doesn’t watch TV sports shows. He may be right, but he knows what is being said.

I put Belichick’s ego up there with his friend, Donald Trump. It bothered Belichick that pretty boy Brady got as much credit as he did. Belichick was the antithesis of Brady. Belichick was grumpy. Belichick was no magazine model. Belichick didn’t do commercials. Belichick wasn’t married to a supermodel. Belichick had zero charisma.

So when Brady showed the slightest signs of slippage, Belichick pounced. The Patriots would lose in the wildcard game following the 2019 season. Brady was seeking a contract extension, but Belichick (or was it owner, Robert Kraft) wanted to move on. There was some belief that Belichick may have wanted to get rid of Brady after the 2018 season, but Brady screwed up those plans by winning the Super Bowl.

Belichick may have wanted to move on years before when he drafted Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round of the 2014 draft. Why draft a young quarterback that early in the draft when you had Tom Brady as your quarterback?

I’m sure Brady thought the same thing. It was an insult. Didn’t the Patriots have other needs? What was Belichick thinking?

In hindsight, that may have been the beginning of several questionable drafts by Belichick. Is it arrogant to think the Patriots could have won more Super Bowls if they drafted better?

Then there were questionable disciplinary actions made by Belichick. Belichick benched Wes Welker for the first drive in a loss against the Jets in a playoff game in 2011 after Welker mocked Jets’ head coach Rex Ryan’s apparent foot fetish.

Most controversial, however, was Super Bowl XLIX hero Malcolm Butler’s benching in a loss in Super Bowl LII to the Philadelphia Eagles and backup quarterback, Nick Foles. To this day, we still have not found out why Butler was benched.

But neither Belichick or Brady were ready to hang them up after their 2019 playoff loss to Mike Vrabel and the Tennessee Titans. But both wanted to prove they could win without the other.

Belichick had some experience as a head coach without Brady as his quarterback. Belichick compiled a 36-44 record as head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 1991-1995 where he drew controversy for benching veteran quarterback Bernie Kosar in favor of a young, unproven Vinny Testaverde. Belichick was 5-11 in his first season with the Patriots in 2000 with Drew Bledsoe as his starting quarterback.

Brady, on the other hand, didn’t know NFL life without Belichick as his head coach. I believe Brady did want to end his career with the Patriots, but he was tired of being underappreciated and not getting paid. Just the opposite, Brady would often take pay cuts during his career in hopes that Belichick would use the extra cash to surround Brady with top-notch talent. The result was uninspiring offensive skill position players – acquired either through free agency, trade, or draft – like Reche Caldwell, Brandon LaFell, Aaron Dobson, Kembrell Thompkins, washed-up veterans like Joey Galloway, Alge Crumpler, Chad Ochocinco, Michael Floyd, and Josh Gordon.

So while Brady may have been sad to leave the only team he ever knew, I think he embraced the opportunity to prove he could win without Belichick. I think he looked forward to being able to play in ideal, sunny conditions in Florida as opposed to the bitter cold and snow of New England.

He played with a chip on his shoulder on his way to leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the Super Bowl championship in his first season there. As if it needed it, his legacy was cemented.

Belichick, on the other hand, has seen his legacy tarnished. Yes, I said it. Whereas five years ago, there would have been little doubt Belichick was widely regarded as the greatest head coach in NFL history, now there are questions. What has Belichick done without Brady? In the four years since Brady has been gone, Belichick has compiled a record of 29-38. As mentioned before, Belichick was 36-44 as head coach of the Browns. He was 5-11 in his first season with the Patriots without Brady.

Yet still, Belichick is not ready to hang it up after parting ways with the Patriots following a 4-13 season. For a man who says records mean nothing, it is obvious Belichick won’t give up until he passes Shula. But it won’t be here in New England.

Owner Robert Kraft said prior to the season that the Patriots have never been about individual stats. They are about wins and losses and Super Bowl trophies. It is safe to say that Belichick’s job would have been jeopardy if the team came up just short of making the playoffs, nevermind being bad enough to earn the third overall draft pick in next year’s draft.

There is no way Kraft should have trusted Belichick with making that pick. Poor personnel decisions have been the number one reason the Patriots have failed to reinvent themselves since Brady left.

Other Belichick decisions have raised red flags. There was the idea of hiring old friends Matt Patricia and Joe Judge as offensive coordinators when neither had coached offense in their careers. To make matters worse, after the failed experiment of last year, there were reports this week that Belichick wanted to run it back again with Patricia and Judge.

There was the decision to leave wide receiver Kendrick Bourne on the sidelines for most of last season. Bourne proved at the beginning of this season, before getting hurt, that he is the best receiver on the roster.

With all the Patriots’ obvious, glaring holes on offense, Belichick used his first three draft picks last season on the defensive side of the ball. The year before, he drafted a little-known offensive guard in the first round.

Belichick, in a press conference earlier this week after the final game but prior to his dismissal, when asked if he would be willing to relinquish his GM duties, Belichick replied he would be willing to do whatever was best for the team. It may have been a last gasp effort by Belichick to save his job. Belichick was putting the ball in Kraft’s court and setting Kraft up to look like the bad guy. If Belichick was let go, it wasn't because Belichick wasn't willing to compromise. It would be 100% Kraft’s decision.

Kraft didn’t bend. There were reports ever since the Patriots’ embarrassing Week 10 loss to the Colts in Germany that Kraft made up his mind not to bring back Belichick. 

To Kraft’s credit, he didn’t let victories over the Steelers and Broncos in the final weeks sway his decision. It wasn’t enough. The victories weren’t that impressive anyway. The last game of the season was an embarrassing loss to the New York Jets – a team the Patriots had beaten 15 straight times. To add insult to injury, Jets’ players were making snow angels and doing celebratory dances on New England’s home turf.

The Patriots wasted no time in announcing Belichick’s replacement. Jerod Mayo was long believed to be the heir apparent to Belichick ever since Kraft included Mayo’s name in a post season memorandum to fans after the disappointing 2022 season in which he stated Mayo isn’t going anywhere.

Ian Rapoport reported this week that the succession was actually written into Mayo’s contract. What Kraft could never have anticipated was the surprise availability of Mike Vrabel who was let go by the Titans, supposedly for his expressed love of the Patriots.

I have always been in favor of Mayo taking over. Kraft said last year that there is no ceiling on how good of a head coach Mayo can be. Keeping Mayo will guarantee continuity on the Patriots’ defense, which was a top ten unit this year.

Vrabel, however, provides more head coaching experience. He has also proven to be a solid in-game tactician. 

The Patriots couldn’t have gone wrong going in either direction. The Patriots boxed themselves in by contractually promising Mayo the head coaching job when Belichick left. That I don’t like. Then again, without that clause, Mayo may not have stayed with the organization last year. It would have been nice to interview some other innovative offensive minds, if nothing else, to learn something about how other teams are doing things in this modern era.

One of the biggest criticisms I have had of Belichick is that he never hired, or sought advice from, anyone outside of his small inner circle of friends. It has always been Patricia, Saban, O’Brien, Groh, Judge, McDaniels.

Belichick never prioritized offense. He was more than happy to win games, 13-10. It will be interesting to see what Mayo’s offensive philosophy will be. From what I have heard from beat writers, Mayo is not a clone of Belichick. He will not be the same old, same old. It will be interesting to see if O”Brien stays on as offensive coordinator. You would think O’Brien – with his extensive head coaching experience – might be a little bitter about the inexperienced Mayo getting Belichick's job. Josh McDaniels is expected to follow Belichick wherever he might go. Which is fine. Again, the Patriots need to look outside the box for new concepts. They need an offensive mind to bring this offense into the 21st century. This is 2024, after all.

Aside from who will be the offensive coordinator, the other important decision will be who will be the general manager. It sounds like the Patriots will have a lot of money under the salary cap to spend in free agency this offseason. They need to re-sign offensive lineman, Michael Onwenu. It would be nice to re-sign Kyle Duggar as well, but it is not a must. I’d like to bring Kendrick Bourne back. Zeke Elliott, Mike Geseki, and even Hunter Henry can go. And sign Christian Barmore to a huge extension now.

The Patriots will not only have the third overall pick in the draft, but also the 34th. If the Patriots can add two of the top, say twenty or twenty-five, offensive players in college football, they shouldn’t be too far off from playoff contention. Call me crazy, but I wouldn’t be too adverse to giving Mac Jones another chance under a new coach with a more talented offensive supporting cast. I know, you are calling me crazy.

If you are still reading, ultimately, the Patriots should draft Drake May or Jayden Daniels. Caleb Williams has "bust" written all over him in my book. Somehow, if Maye and Daniels go one-two, I would draft Marvin Harrison, Jr. and hope to get a quarterback with the early second round or trade back into the middle of the first round. 

Kraft said earlier this week that Belichick was always in charge of all personnel decisions. The insinuation is that Belichick was free to spend as much money as he wanted – as well as insinuating it was Belichick’s decision to let Brady go.