Also, I get the idea that positivity will result in "better discussions" on this board....but to say that the "future is bright" is way over the top. Also calling Bill the "GOAT" is not earned. He is an under 500 coach without Brady who has won one playoff game without Brady (when he was with the Browns).
Let's be honest here, there are serious questions about whether Bill can coach and GM this team to contender status before he breaks Shula's record. I am skeptical. Secondly, the future can only be bright if you are sure you have your franchise QB in place. How can anyone be sure about MAC after this past season???? So lets keep it real...We are in a conference with Mahomes, Herbert, Lamar Jackson, Tua Tagliavola, Josh Allen,Trevor Lawrence. These guys will be in this conference for many years.Pats do not have a clear franchise QB, they do not have coordinators that you can be confident in, they do not have even competent skill players on offense and their OL is questionable. So let's say that Pats have some work to do...but how is the future bright at THIS moment in time?
I am reticent to open this door, because I think there's far too many anti-Bill people, but I am willing to give it go. Every GOAT coach has had their guy. Knoll had Bradshaw. Landry had Staubach. Walsh had Montana. Lombardi had Starr. Jimmy Johnson had Aikman. Don Coryell, not generally considered a GOAT, but certainly an innovator, had Fouts. Dungy had Manning. Shanahan had Elway. Further down the list, Marv Levy had Jim Kelly. The flavor du jour around these parts, Sean Payton, had Drew Brees, and he did not consistently win with Brees, who's going to be a first ballot HoFer. The only ones off the top of my head that didn't have "their" guy are Joe Gibbs, and Shula. Shula had a career long enough that he had Unitas, Griese and Marino, the latter has been documented here ad nauseum that he didn't win with. So, the fact that Bill is less than excellent without Brady is not uncommon. Bill did take Parcells leftovers after Pete Carroll and build a winner. He re-built after 2009, which is something that none of the guys I listed were able to do, save for Gibbs. Yes, Brady was still here. No one else was. We've become so accustomed to winning here that it's expected that Bill's just going to reload again for a third time, and the anti-Bill people want to throw shade that he hasn't been able to do it. He's already done something that no one else has done. Let's not get into the who's greater, Brady or Belichick, because, to quote Bill, it's a player's game. That doesn't take away from what the man has done. I think the odds of him doing it a third time are astronomically low.
More importantly, in my opinion anyway, is the second point you make, which mirrors off the first: needing an elite QB. I am not willing to say Tua is that, after one successful year, same with Herbert, who looks the part. But Mahomes has the pedigree and the pelts (to quote Parcells), Burrow's done it at a high level, Josh Allen is a dude, Trevor Lawrence looks like he might be. There's some talented QBs in the league, and, like you, I am not willing to say Mac is the guy. He might be, and might not be. This year's coaching staff left a lot to be desired, and a big part of that is on Bill. I'll put some of it on Kraft as well, because I think the decision to hire Judge and Patricia and let them still draw checks from their previous jobs comes from RKKs office. That's just smart business, getting the services a guy who they think is an asset while someone else pays them off their previous contract, as long as it works. I don't think it worked this time. I'd like to see what Mac can do with a proper staff.
So, the day after the season ended, I'm not waving the team flags saying how bright the future is, but the people in charge, Belichick and the Krafts, know more about winning in the NFL than anyone else. No other owner/coach combo has 6 rings. They just need the personnel to get them back. I'm not sure Bill is going to, but I am confident in the Krafts to get it done, much like some of the other organizations we see that are always successful. I am sure that there's no young guy out there I would rather have than Bill coaching this team. GM, well, that's another discussion all together.