Ken, I’ve got a lot of respect for you and your posts, but in this one I’m thinking you’re looking through a distorted lens. I think you’re taking a naive and simplistic view of the complicated dynamics in a large high performing organization. Decisions like moving on from Brady will not be made without agreement up the management chain. The Krafts as well as Belichick, McDaniels, and Caesario will all be good at separating subjective personal fondness from cold objective business judgement. Bill’s neck would be in a noose only if he failed to include his bosses in decision making. Not because of the outcome of any one collective decision.
Another thing, I think it’s ridiculous to think Bill would “step up the quality of his personnel decisions” because of situational pressure. For one thing, he’s consistently shown himself to be immune to pressure in things like not calling a time-out but instead calling “go Malcolm go” in a dire Super Bowl moment. For another, thinking he can step it up because of pressure means you’re thinking he’s not already pushing to do his best already, and that just doesn’t seem right to me.
Point is, it’s the dynamics that matter, the chemistry within the organization. To me that’s what he’s talking about when he says he only wants to coach players he likes. What he likes is their commitment to do the hard work, to buy into the shared values that lead to a winning culture. And what he’s saying is that he doesn’t want to coach players that aren’t on the same page with him. I don’t see that changing under pressure, if anything I expect he’ll double down on it. But as well as it’s worked for him that seems justifiable.
I expect the machine will continue performing, much better than most expect. As a post in today’s draft thread put it, find talent, provide opportunity and coaching. If they perform things will keep rolling long, just as the Patriots have through many years of coaching staff and player roster turnover. If they don’t perform replace them, even if the wear #12. Players new to the roster will be asked to step up, and I expect enough will for the franchise to continue to perform at the same consistent level of excellence.
Maybe that’s overly optimistic. Time will tell.
It’s only a meritocracy when it’s somebody else’s kid. Fears of unmerited nepotism in this instance are tempered somewhat by Brian Belichick’s stalled ascent up the coaching tree. Why promote one without merit while the other languishes?
The Belichick worshippers already planning for his first son to replace him need to remember it’s not Bill’s job to bequeath. Bob and/or Jonathan Kraft will be making that call. It wouldn’t surprise me that Bill might not even control when he leaves. After convincing the Krafts to let him run off the GOAT, Bill’s neck is in a noose whether he knows it or not especially if Brady succeeds in Tampa.
My hope is Bill knows it and steps up the quality of his personnel decisions by taking the counsel of his scouts and Caserio and stops the “I only want to coach players I like” nonsense and rises to the challenge of keeping the Patriots championship contenders. If he doesn’t, he’ll be gone in a couple of years. Pushed out the door just like he just pushed Brady.
