5 Immediate Changes That Will Make the Patriots Playoff Contenders
By Tyler Maher
The Patriots are sinking, and they're sinking fast. With New England at 1-4 and coming off back-to-back blowout losses, it's clear that drastic changes must be made to save the season.
The Patriots have a lot of issues, unfortunately, but they're not all unfixable. Solutions exist, and New England still has time to rally and make the playoffs if its aggressive and acts now.
Here are five changes the Patriots need to make ASAP if they want to make the playoffs.
5 Moves Patriots Should Make ASAP
1. Fire Bill Belichick
Pretty much all of the Patriots' current issues can be pinned on Belichick, namely his terrible roster construction and the team's lack of preparation at the start of games. They keep losing because they keep falling behind early and don't have the talent to catch up, and both of those things are on Bill.
He's had a great run, of course, but it's time to stop living in the past. The game has passed Belichick by, and at 71 he clearly lacks the ingenuity and creativity needed to flourish in the modern NFL. Instead, he keeps surrounding himself with the same assistant coaches (including his kids) and is stuck trying to build a football team from a bygone era where defense, special teams and running the ball are more important than the passing game.
Belichick said the Patriots need to "start over," and that starts with him. He hasn't won a playoff game in over four years. The team is 27-35 under his watch since late 2019 despite employing five different starting quarterbacks (one of whom was Tom Brady). Belichick's strategies don't work anymore, and the sooner we acknowledge that the better.
New England's been grooming defensive coordinator Jerod Mayo to be Belichick's successor, and it's time to give him a shot. He's nearly half Belichick's age (37) and actually played in the modern NFL, so he's a little more up to speed on what it takes to win football games in 2023.