Curran: What’s Belichick’s plan as Pats’ coaching attrition continues? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
I’m not sure how many true believers remain in the “In Bill We Trust” brigade.
But if you’re still living with blind faith that Bill Belichick’s master plan for success in the 2020s was to say “So long” to Tom Brady, Nick Caserio, Josh McDaniels, Dave Ziegler, Monti Ossenfort, Ernie Adams, Dante Scarnecchia and Brian Flores, blow almost the entirety of every draft from 2017 through 2019 and then welcome Matt Patricia and Joe Judge back to the staff after each man flamed out spectacularly with the Lions and Giants, you might need a gentle nudge back into reality.
Has the greatest coach in pro football history and (arguably) American team sports more than earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to running a football team? Of course he has.
But it’s not sacrilege to point out the Patriots have been bobbing aimlessly on the waves of mediocrity for 2.5 seasons now. And team’s been simultaneously losing coaching and personnel staff.
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Since Halloween 2019, the Patriots have gone 21-22. Their post-December 1 record in the last three seasons is 7-11. There’s no need to relitigate the Brady departure. No need to ponder whether Mac Jones was good planning or great luck. No need to lament the failed selections of Cyrus Jones, N’Keal Harry, Joejuan Williams, Isaiah Wynn, Chase Winovich and point out who the Patriots COULD have had.
With the 2021 season officially over as of Sunday, the question now is, how impressive is the contingent of Patriots employees charged with bringing them back to prominence?
Last week, linebackers coach Jerod Mayo spoke plainly of a need for the Patriots’ best young players to fill the leadership void that’s grown since guys like Brady, Julian Edelman, Patrick Chung etc. have left and so many other great veterans — James White, Matthew Slater, Dont’a Hightower and Devin McCourty – are nearing the end of their runs.
Over the weekend, it was learned that McDaniels — newly-installed as Raiders head coach alongside Ziegler, who has become Raiders GM — is bringing three Patriots assistants with him. Losing Mick Lombardi and Carmen Bricillo from this staff probably isn’t going to be as historic as when the New York Giants lost coordinators Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry in successive seasons.
But they are a pair of Jenga pieces out of the tower. And the Patriots’ plan for buttressing not just their loss but the loss of McDaniels is still ambiguous.
There’s always been a presumption that ‘Bill has a plan.’ And I’m sure he does now. But is it one he designed or one he’s being forced into on the fly? And is it a good one?
Tom E. Curran
Could Bill O’Brien be summoned back to run the offense? His boss at Alabama, Nick Saban, said recently there’s no indication O’Brien’s trying to leave.
Could Nick Caley jumps up from tight ends coach to the role of offensive coordinator? Edelman spoke highly of Caley last week.
Could Judge be given some offensive responsibilities? Edelman indicated that play-calling might not be Judge’s bag.
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Could Patricia somehow insinuate himself into a coaching role as ESPN’s Mike Reiss speculated on Sunday? Going back to the 2017 AFCCG through his tenure in Detroit, he’s on — to put it mildly — an extended cold snap. What’s he done to earn that role?
The Patriots’ best asset right now is Jones. He’s a more-than-competent quarterback heading into the second year of his rookie contract. But the upheaval on the offensive coaching staff in addition to the lack of a true slot receiver, a fear-inducing boundary receiver and a top-tier third-down back if James White is done are setting Jones up for on-field regression in 2022.
The Patriots are fortunate Jones is a savant but the second-year jump we presume will be compromised as the team orients a new coordinator, new offensive line coach, new tight ends coach (if Caley moves up), new running backs coach (if Ivan Fears retires), etc.
I’m fairly certain none of this is news to Belichick. And it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he actually becomes the one to grab the offensive reins to an extent. But given the way the 2021 season closed on the defensive side of the ball and the possible loss of some key veterans there, having Belichick wear more hats isn’t ideal.
Not because he’s almost 70. I don’t think his birthdate is relevant at all. Simply because — over the past decade or more — he’s drifted further and further from being the delegator he wanted to be when he arrived in 2000.
This was from Belichick’s first press conference as Patriots head coach.
Q: There were some mistakes that you made coaching in Cleveland. What have you learned in your years since then and what will help you be a better coach now?
BB: I think that’s a very fair question. The two biggest things that I feel that I’ve learned from the previous coaching experience and through 25 years of coaching would one be to delegate more. Previously I think I’ve maybe tried to do too many little things. Too many things that maybe took away from bigger picture things that I should have been doing.
Secondly, I’ve learned that as much as the game is played on the field and it’s extremely important to do everything right when you reach the football field in order to win in this league. There are also a lot of things on the periphery and outside off the field that are also important towards winning and I’ll put more time and effort into making sure those things are right for the organization maybe than I did previously.
Q: You were talking about delegating matters more; does that mean that you will leave personnel matters to someone else?
BB: This is no one-man band here. I can’t play all of the instruments. There are a lot of good people in this organization, and there are a lot of resources, people that I have worked with three years ago that are still here and I’m sure a lot of new faces who I’ve heard a lot of good things about and I’m looking forward to working with all those people in the organization on all different matters: coaching, personnel, organizational and football operations matters.
I’ll take as much help and as many resources as I can to do the job and it’s going to take everybody’s commitment to winning for us to get the job done. One person can’t do it. I’ll work as hard as I can, but I’m going to need that kind of commitment from a lot of other people and demand it and if we all give than we’ll be where we want to go.
Hiring Judge and Patricia back as general assistants brings institutional knowledge, sure. But are they here for their acumen and new ideas? Or are they here with ambiguous titles for short money with the Giants and Lions still paying them?
The simple facts are these. The Patriots have more good, young players on their roster now than they did in 2019 and 2020. But their draft misses at the end of last decade forced them to spend wildly last offseason. They don’t have a lot of cap room and are going to lose several impact players to free agency and retirement.
Meanwhile, the coaching staff has gotten worse through attrition. There’s always been a presumption that “Bill has a plan.” And I’m sure he does now.
But is it one he designed or one he’s being forced into on the fly? And is it a good one?