New England Patriots Insider: Exploring football life after Bill Belichick
There is speculation among New England Patriots aficionados about how long head honcho Bill Belichick will remain in charge of the on-field operation. It’s a valid question to speculate about.
It’s also interesting to think about where the franchise goes when that day arrives and Belichick either sits in a senior executive emeritus position for the club or heads off into the sunset on his boat.
First, let’s take a quick look at how long it’s likely that Belichick will remain in his current position and then switch to a brief discussion of what should happen when he decides that his long coaching/executive tenure in Foxborough is over.
New England Patriots Bill Belichick will coach until …
The question of how long Belichick will continue his dual role for the New England Patriots is not one that’s really difficult to answer. It says here that it’s basically as long as he wants to. Why is that?
Firstly, Bob Kraft must certainly now realize that allowing an escape clause in Tom Brady’s contract (that was not including a franchise clause) prior to the 2019 season was a gaffe of monumental proportions.
It was the worst decision of Kraft’s extraordinarily successful tenure as owner in New England. It was even worse than his foolishly not allowing then-Head Coach Bill Parcells to “shop for the groceries” as Parcells put it back in the day.
Kraft won’t make the same mistake of letting a GOAT go twice. Belichick is looked upon as the GOAT of NFL coaches. Now whether it was his coaching or Brady’s playing that was the genesis of that success is a discussion for another day. The fact is, Belichick was the coach and he won six Super Bowls. That’s an all-time success no matter how you look at it.
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It says here that Belichick will coach until he decides to hang up his earphones and that will likely only be after he surpasses the legendary Don Shula as the winningest coach of all time.
Belichick moved into second place behind Shula all-time after beating Cleveland earlier this season,
"Belichick now trails only Don Shula on the career wins list. Shula finished his storied career with 347 wins, 23 more than Belichick’s current mark."
After three more wins, the Patriots majordomo now has 326 wins, a mere 21 fewer than Shula. In the Brady days, that record would fall in a season and a half but now, it may take longer. Whatever it takes, bet on Belichick reaching that milestone before any changes in the Patriots hierarchy take place.
New England Patriots post-Bill Belichick
After that milestone is reached and Belichick at some point decides to retire, what should happen then? That’s something interesting on which to speculate. The thought here is this should happen.
First, the Patriots should hire a top personnel man who is in tune with the modern NFL and has a top background. That choice is an easy one here, it’s ESPN commentator and former NFL executive Louis Riddick. The Patriots can do no better.
Riddick is the total package. He’s smart, experienced as an NFL executive, draft-knowledgeable, and totally well-respected. In short, he’s everything any NFL club should be salivating to hire. In fact, if Kraft were astute, he’d bring Riddick in right now and let him have a couple of seasons to begin reshaping this mediocre Patriots roster.
Second, the team should let Riddick hire a savvy Head Coach to work with him. This should be a coach who’s experienced in what the new NFL has to offer.
He must be innovative, experienced with, and ready to implement an RPO system. This will require a mobile quarterback. That’s one who can run for yardage as part of his repertoire, not as an accident, and mess up an opposing defense not only with his arm but also with his legs. Hello Lamar Jackson!
Next. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has a major Matt Patricia problem. dark
Those are the steps that should follow (or with Jackson even precede?) Bill Belichick’s exit whenever that might be. At that point, the Patriots, their fans, and the NFL can elect BB to the Pats Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and any other hall that’s available. It will be well-deserved.
Then, the new regime and philosophy can be instituted under Louis Riddick, and Patriot Nation can sit back, relax, and ready itself for the next great generation of excellence.