Tom Curran: Today's NFL has no patience for 'Next Belichick'

[Jackson 2]

Has to be said that Belichick benefitted from a SB win in 2001. There was already talk in the media that he had to go, but he was "saved" by an unlikely but fateful underdog season. Very possible that if the Tuck Rule has gone the other way, Belichick might have lasted through 2002 before getting run out of town.

It also has to be said that the Patriots were the beneficiaries of having Belichick as their coach in2001. Very few coaches would have had the balls to keep Brady as the starter once Bledsoe had recovered. The team was good enough to secure the #2 bye that season. Although they missed the playoffs the next year, their record was a winning one at 9-7. I doubt he would have been run out of town.

 

[RayClay]

He deactivated a healthy Glenn for the season after a game where he had seven catches.

Imagine him deactivating our top receiver mid season now.

 

[RobertWeathers]

He deactivated a healthy Glenn for the season after a game where he had seven catches.

Imagine him deactivating our top receiver mid season now.

Jesus if BB deactivated Gronk this board would melt.

 

[patfanken]

Nice article, Tom!

But "cache" means "store" or "reserve". It's "cachet" that means "credit" or "prestige". (From the French for a seal. "Lettres de cachet" were sealed orders from the King.) [/pedantry]

I know the difference between the 2, Mike, and Tommy does too. But that being said, had I written a piece that required the term "cachet" there is no question in my mind I would have spelled it "cache" too.

 

[patfanken]

Most were discarded because they were overpaid and/or washed up. Not the same as Chip Kelly's deals.

It has been proposed that Kelly was trying to coach rich pro players like they were college players. That's a problem.

I don't think that is true Ray. I think if you look at what guys like McCoy and Macklin made compared to how they performed, I don't think y0u can make the case that any of them played up to the level of their contracts (very few ever do) Not that I'm saying McCoy etc, didn't play well, just not to the level of that max contract.

 

[RayClay]

I don't think that is true Ray. I think if you look at what guys like McCoy and Macklin made compared to how they performed, I don't think y0u can make the case that any of them played up to the level of their contracts (very few ever do) Not that I'm saying McCoy etc, didn't play well, just not to the level of that max contract.

I was talking about 2001 era Patriots, like Coates, Lane, Rucci where they weren't helpful.

Ty Law wasn't worth his contract, but they didn't cut him at the time. I don't know the players involved well, but i think Jackson and McCoy still can play in the league and he simply didn't want them, similar to Terry Glenn

If you have a good player who fits your scheme,I think you might ride him out a year being overpaid. Didn't seem to help his team.

 

[Kjmass1]

Coaches contracts are fully guaranteed, right? Why can't a coach put in a 2x multiplier for the remaining years if he is fired? Say I need 5 years for my program and if you fire me early it will cost you a lot of $$.

 

[Patsrock]

Coaches contracts are fully guaranteed, right? Why can't a coach put in a 2x multiplier for the remaining years if he is fired? Say I need 5 years for my program and if you fire me early it will cost you a lot of $$.

Because all ownera will say thanks but no thanks and go on to next in line.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Look around the league. Find the teams that will allow coaches to grow, even through the difficult time of rebuilds, for other than pecuniary reasons. That's where you're most likely to find great coaches. So...

NYG
Pit
N.E. (?)
G.B. (?)

Done

Wonder if Allen in SEA fits the bill as well

 

[BobDigital]

Maybe and maybe not.

The key is having a coach as capable as BB. If a coach is that good then he can find someone who will let him do whatever he wants as long as he brings them wins consistently.

 

[patfanken]

Some comments on the comments:

1. I find that what happened to Chip Kelly is SOP these days in the NFL and one of the key reasons for the Pats continued and consistent success. I hope it never changes. A huge advantage for us.

2. I think too much is made about the impact of the 2001 Superbowl win. I don't think the win was as important as the IMPROVEMENT the team made in the 2nd season. They players started to see that if they did what the coaches asked, they could win. More importantly they started to see that when they DIDN'T do what they said, they didn't. They started to see that the game plans they were given, were good ones and gave them an edge,....when they executed it.

Not that I'm saying that the Superbowl win didn't help. Of course it added to his credibility. However the fact that they had a winning season and got stronger as the season wore on, was just as important for BB to build credibility with the team.

3. Bill let a lot of guys go in that first year. But he was left with an impossible cap situation coming in. He simply did what he HAD to do. However if you are looking for deals that were Chip Kelly-like, you only have to go to the Terry Glenn and Lawyer Milloy, Drew Bledsoe moves.

The Glenn move was very much like moving Macklin or Jackson. Terry Glenn was the ONLY impact WR the team had in 2001. It would be like cutting Gronk. THAT is how gutsy it was for BB to let him go....and that is how talented Terry Glenn was as a WR......and BB cutting him was the right move.

BTW- if you want to know how good TG was, remember this. In is last 2 full seasons with the Cowboys, Glenn had two 1000 yd seasons as a 30+ year old WR. He might have been nuts and never reached his true potential, but he was still a hell of a receiver and a big reason Parcells got to the superbowl here.

4. A lot of people forget that the Pats were 5-5 coming off a loss to the Rams at Foxboro. They weren't getting a lot of playoff talk from the media. At the time most people were just happy the were close to 500, which was a vast improvement over the year before

5. I have always believed the BB was just as surprised with the 2001 win as we were. When "the book" is finally written, I bet BB will say that in the grand plan the 2001 team was the year they made it to the playoffs and turned around the culture. The 2002 team was supposed to learn how to win in the playoffs. And it would be until the 2003 team that he expected to make a strong drive for a championship.

6. The most important thing I hope people got from that article is just how difficult it is for players to play here. "It is not for everyone" is not a cliche....it's a fact. Things like "community service" is not an option. It's part of your contract.

BTW- I don't by into the notion that players bristle at the media constraints BB puts on them. I bet most are happy to know exactly what to say to the media. It takes a lot of pressure off them.

7. Interesting to note form that article that even though it has taken 15 years, the local mediots have come to terms with BB's media "style". They too know what to expect. Most stupid questions that BB won't answer are asked because they are expected to be asked by their editors, and by now, tape of BB spanking a reporter for asking a question he knows BB won't answer, is better than a provocative response.

8. BTW- good article by Curran

 

[patfanken]

I was talking about 2001 era Patriots, like Coates, Lane, Rucci where they weren't helpful.

Ty Law wasn't worth his contract, but they didn't cut him at the time. I don't know the players involved well, but i think Jackson and McCoy still can play in the league and he simply didn't want them, similar to Terry Glenn

If you have a good player who fits your scheme,I think you might ride him out a year being overpaid. Didn't seem to help his team.

OK, I get it.

As far as Kelly's decisions went, I think I understood where he was coming from. I think it was McCoy's running style that Chip didn't want to play top dollar for. He has what I call "Barry Sanders syndrome". A big play RB, who leaves too many times with a 2nd and 13 instead of a 2nd and 7. OC's hate that. As for the WR's I think those 2 were cap casualties, and reflects that Chip, like BB, is NOT going to pay top dollar to ANY WR, not going immediately into the HOF (Randy Moss) Also I think he was looking more for an Anquain Boldin type rather than a TY Hilton type. Evan Mathis was another good player, but one not living up to his contract. BTW- I thing the market place proved Chip right on this point. I think he wound ip in Denver making about half of what he was demanding in Philly..

 

[Deus Irae]

Wonder if Allen in SEA fits the bill as well

You raise a good question, there. He gave Holmgren time but canned him after his first really bad (4-12) season, then quick hooked Mora. He inherited Erickson, so it's tough to even count that one. Carroll had pretty good success year 3, and won in year 4.

I'll put Sea on the list with a question mark.

 

[AQPE]

2. I think too much is made about the impact of the 2001 Superbowl win. I don't think the win was as important as the IMPROVEMENT the team made in the 2nd season. They players started to see that if they did what the coaches asked, they could win. More importantly they started to see that when they DIDN'T do what they said, they didn't. They started to see that the game plans they were given, were good ones and gave them an edge,....when they executed it.

6. The most important thing I hope people got from that article is just how difficult it is for players to play here. "It is not for everyone" is not a cliche....it's a fact. Things like "community service" is not an option. It's part of your contract.

BTW- I don't by into the notion that players bristle at the media constraints BB puts on them. I bet most are happy to know exactly what to say to the media. It takes a lot of pressure off them.

Ken I had to cull out these quotes from your outstanding post. I think the points I've highlighted are the most crucial ones that underlie the whole discussion of why too many owners are condemning their franchises to constant turmoil.

The trust that BB has from everyone in the organization is almost as important as his unparalleled acumen. The football IQ of BB and his staff is ahead of most of his peers but that isn't why his team constantly defies expectation in maintaining excellence for this long, in spite of egregious volumes of injuries, etc. It comes down to trust. He's earned it but just as importantly his organization is willing to invest theirs in him. A lot of the players, coaches, and other members of organizations in the league can't or won't subsume their own personal agendas, and that is why the Pats aren't for everyone. Understanding that there are a lot of things that players actually don't like to do and not making them do it, like setting up a system where they don't have to deal with the media when they don't want to, is one of the reasons why they are willing to subsume their agendas.

No head coach is going to make it in today's NFL unless the substantial majority of the people throughout the entire organization trusts him. This was Pete Carroll's biggest problem both in New England and when he was HC of the NYJ. In most cases organizations need to stick with a program for a while before they get to the championship level, but in the media environment that exists now, it is almost impossible for owners to exercise patience. A lot of owners don't have that because they are either spectacular business successes like Jones, Richardson, and Khan who have built empires by being bold and quick, or they are inheritors like Irsay and Lurie that don't really have a clue how to run a professional organization. One of the reasons I personally admire the Mara/Tisch ownership for the Giants and the Rooney ownership for the Steelers is how they are models of patience. You'd think that after this much of a record for them and for guys like Kraft, the other owners would follow that model.

 

[Nikolai]

You'd think that after this much of a record for them and for guys like Kraft, the other owners would follow that model.

This model takes a great deal of discipline; more than most people commonly possess. One could question if Kraft really DOES possess this discipline and if he's still running things after BB goes, we'll find out. It's easy when you have someone like BB. He's a fire and forget weapon.

 

[wizwor]

This is a great article by Tom ... he may be 100% correct ... Belichick may very well be the last.

Curran: Today's NFL has no patience for 'Next Belichick'

Or maybe BB is something special that will never come along again.

 

[IcyPatriot]

BTW- if you want to know how good TG was, remember this. In is last 2 full seasons with the Cowboys, Glenn had two 1000 yd seasons as a 30+ year old WR. He might have been nuts and never reached his true potential, but he was still a hell of a receiver and a big reason Parcells got to the superbowl here.

I will never forget some media member asking him to divulge his nutrition habits ... and he did not want to answer the question. So the media person persisted and Glenn said it would be best if he did not answer. Finally ... he was pressured to give an answer and it was junk food .... Glenn lived on fast food. That's how talented he was ... he was born ready as they say ... the top level of the lucky gene pool.

 

[BlitzFritz]

1. Clearly BB is a special coach who may never come along again. His 15 year record is unprecedented. We are on the verge of ANOTHER HFA throughout the playoffs.

2. Most owners give up and change the systems too fast. It's a huge advantage for us, since they go back to starting over in 3-4 year process. Example chip Kelly

3. Plenty of VERY good coaches have bad years from injuries etc. example Andy Reid. Mike Shanahan. to, Coughlan. Few owners have the patience to ride through those, so they press reset again, and again, and again.

I certainly think there are examples of the opposite, owners who have shown some patience and wisdom eg NYG, Green Bay, even Cinn.

I think another very successful coach can certainly emerge again. Likely not at the level of production of a BB, but at a high level

--> FRITZ

 

[The Gr8est]

1. Clearly BB is a special coach who may never come along again. His 15 year record is unprecedented. We are on the verge of ANOTHER HFA throughout the playoffs.

2. Most owners give up and change the systems too fast. It's a huge advantage for us, since they go back to starting over in 3-4 year process. Example chip Kelly

3. Plenty of VERY good coaches have bad years from injuries etc. example Andy Reid. Mike Shanahan. to, Coughlan. Few owners have the patience to ride through those, so they press reset again, and again, and again.

I certainly think there are examples of the opposite, owners who have shown some patience and wisdom eg NYG, Green Bay, even Cinn.

I think another very successful coach can certainly emerge again. Likely not at the level of production of a BB, but at a high level

--> FRITZ

It isn't just owners who are impatient. If some of the posters in the game threads here had the power to hire and fire BB would have been gone a long time ago.

 

[Fencer]

I was going to say that since Kraft gave up a pick for BB he wouldn't dump him all that quickly in any case -- but stranger things have happened. Gruden lasted 6 seasons in Tampa Bay, after a huge cost in picks and 1 fast Lombardi trophy.

Meanwhile, it occurs to me that one could say BB has cost the Pats three 1st-round picks and a 4th, on the theory that the ridiculous pick confiscations might not have happened if BB were somewhat more politically or diplomatically adept. Of course, all except the first are very late-in-the-round picks. And I think we'd all agree he's well worth the price.