6 Patriots Most to Blame for Disastrous 2023-24 Season

1. Bill Belichick, Head Coach

Since taking over the job back in 2000, Bill Belichick has had a ton of success. He boasts an overall record of 266-121 in 24 seasons. He also has six Super Bowl rings and a record of 30-12 in the playoffs. Of course, we all know his best days came with Tom Brady under center.

Without Brady, Belichick was 29-38 with a 0-1 mark in the postseason. He also had back-to-back losing seasons for the first time in New England. He even suffered 13 losses this year which is the most he's ever had — even going back to his tenure with the Cleveland Browns.

To sum it all up, this was a disastrous season for the veteran head coach and much of it was his own fault. Belichick is a great coach due to his belief in his approach but this year, he allowed that belief to cloud his judgment. He once again neglected the wide receiver position, trying to turn JuJu Smith-Schuster into a No. 1 option. He also got in the way of his new offensive coordinator with reports detailing how he kept Bill O'Brien from hiring his own staff.

As if that wasn't enough, he's ultimately responsible for sticking with Mac Jones despite seeing major red flags and releasing Nick Folk in favor of Chad Ryland. All of this added up is why there's a strong belief Belichick and New England could be headed for a split. But if they do decide to run it back for another year, the head coach is going to have to do some serious soul-searching to see if he can make the necessary changes to fix this mess.

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