IMAGINE IF BILL BELICHICK IS JOBLESS FOR LIFE, UNLESS FOX SPORTS CALLS HIM
NFL sentiment is thinking of a new gig — Washington, Chicago, the Chargers — but the coach who developed Tom Brady's mastery has forgotten how to groom a quarterback, leaving him without future hope
The vision for a head coach is pleasure, fun through championships, such as stealing a cheeseburger from your quarterback. That’s how Andy Reid goofs with Patrick Mahomes in an insurance commercial, which is hardly how it was for two decades when Bill Belichick crabbed through work and still won six Super Bowls with his quarterback. Since Tom Brady left, Belichick slogs mostly through gloomy defeats, 37 in his fourth year, to the point he’ll lose his job in New England.
The Patriot Weigh ranks among the most confounding turnarounds in league history, an about-face from the Patriot Way. “I think any questions you have for Mr. Kraft, you should ask Mr. Kraft. I mean, I don’t know,” said Belichick, speaking of the man who would fire him, owner Robert Kraft. “I don’t sit around and listen to talk radio and read stuff every day, so. I’m going to do what I do.” Then he adds where his team will play this week, preparing for Denver.
Yet a vague NFL feeling exists that he still could coach elsewhere next season. Might it be the Washington Commanders, who need a stable existence with a new owner? Or the Los Angeles Chargers, whose football president says the size of a paycheck won’t stop him from any pursuits? Or the Chicago Bears, who otherwise have no hope and always are looking for the next George S. Halas, whose all-time wins total is just behind Belichick? Some sentiment might be fondness for the most accomplished coach, which is odd, given his infamy with Spygate, Spygate II, Deflategate and, yes, Aaron Hernandez.
In the end, early next month, I can’t see any team hiring him. The Chargers need a young coach, either Detroit’s Ben Johnson or a quarterback whisperer like Jim (Woe Is Me) at Michigan to extract the most from Justin Herbert. The Commanders will be pressured to hire from within, Eric Bieniemy, an African American whose departure hasn’t helped Mahomes and the Chiefs. The Las Vegas Raiders might stick with Antonio Pierce. The Carolina Panthers are looking hard at Johnson and another offensive strategist, Cincinnati’s Brian Callahan. The Bears could have him, maybe, until someone reminds them why smart owners won’t want Belichick.
The problem is this: He has forgotten how to groom a quarterback, the most magnetizing variable for a coach. After developing an unforgettable relationship with Brady, who was selected 199th in the draft, Belichick has gone bust in his combustible breakdown with Mac Jones. The Patriots are putting up 13 offensive points a game, worst in the league and less than one-half the number when Brady departed. Watching this cluster yuck, it’s hard to believe they were 6-3 in Super Bowls, 30-11 in the playoffs and averaged 12.2 regular-season victories in 16-game seasons. We’ve known for a while that Brady won the “Who’s More Responsible For The Six Titles?” debate. But who knew Belichick would collapse into shame, where his skills have led to fruitless drafts and bizarre coaching decisions?
Anytime he is asked to compare NOW to THEN, he says, “I’m not getting into the past, the future, anything else. … I don’t really see the big picture.” Here’s the big picture: In a league where the best coaches are much younger — Kyle Shanahan is 44 and could win his first Super Bowl in San Francisco, while HBO features Miami’s Mike McDaniel, who is 40 and telling officials about “the street cred” of his upscale white sneakers — Bill Belichick turns 72 in April. The best of his coaching days is far behind him. It was Brady’s public abstinence against him in the final years that led to a sixth championship, in February 2019.
Almost five years have passed. Brady is off to a new life, with a seventh title in Tampa Bay, leaving Belichick in the ancient dust. Last March, Kraft was asked if Belichick would remain as coach until he broke Don Shula’s record for wins. He didn’t say yes. “Look, I'd like him to break Don Shula's record, but I'm not looking for any of our players to get great stats. We're about winning and doing whatever we can to win,” he said. “That's what our focus is now.” The Patriots have played 14 times this year. They have won only three and might be in line for the draft’s No. 1 pick, which would have to be a QB, either Caleb Williams or Drake Maye. Do you want Belichick handling either one? Not after the Mac Crack.
It has reached the point where the sport’s top coach, Reid, is defending him. After leading a struggling team to a 27-17 victory Sunday in Foxborough, Reid said of Belichick, “He’s done an unbelievable job, best in the business, ever. That’s what you’re talking about, so, yeah, I don’t question it. I know how great he is, and I’ve got to deal with him by playing against him, so nobody better, not that I’ve gone against. Nobody better.”
He could have said that for years. At some point, the Belichick gratitude must end. In 184 games as an NFL head coach without Brady, his record is 83-101, along with 1-2 in the postseason. With Brady, he was 249-75. Nobody was better in the history of the sport with Brady. Most have been way better without him. In Dallas, Tom Landry was fired by Jerry Jones at 64. Shula was “at peace with myself” when he was forced to retire at 66. Belichick is older.
So we wait to see if Kraft hires in-house successor Jerod Mayo and other teams send a message: We don’t want you, Bill Belichick. In my heart of hearts, someone in broadcasting circles — you, at Fox Sports — would realize the man would be an ideal sidekick for Brady in the booth. Imagine those two fighting on air. Imagine Brady with his “way to f—ing go” mentality and Belichick producing dry wit. That would be his future.
But the dude must coach, forever. On to Denver, Christmas Eve night. Eventually, he will gather with Kraft and devise a polite way of saying he’s not fired, but Black Monday is coming anyway. He will make phone calls and hear the thank yous.
How will he feel when no one hires him?
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.