'Voted off the island': Inside Bill Belichick's failed job hunt (ESPN report)

[Clonamery]

The key day was when Bill told Kraft that he was hiring Judge and Patricia to run the Offense. Many GM's would have been fired there and then. Yes, we should blame the Kraft's for not having the balls to act. Instead, he gave his 25-year GM his way. And then, after the total failure of the 2022 season, the Kraft's again did not have the balls to fire the GM.

Kraft is a Billionaire (not the fan who sat on the metal benches of Sullivan Stadium) who no doubt gave BB **** about $$$$$$$$$$$$$ for his entire career here. So yeah, I'm sure he'd had enough, and truth be told I'm sure BB was glad to go. Sure appeared that way at the press conference. And he will never publicly **** on Kraft's legacy, just the opposite.

 

[mgteich]

Kraft is a Billionaire (not the fan who sat on the metal benches of Sullivan Stadium) who no doubt gave BB **** about $$$$$$$$$$$$$ for his entire career here. So yeah, I'm sure he'd had enough, and truth be told I'm sure BB was glad to go. Sure appeared that way at the press conference. And he will never publicly **** on Kraft's legacy, just the opposite.

BB needed to be pushed out after the 2022 season. But, yes, I agree that he was glad to go. However, I suspect that he thought that teams would be lining up at his door waiting to hire him.

AN ASIDE
I would note that Belichick was paid very well for his services.

 

[Triumph]

I disagree.

Picking the only QB left with the hope of improving play compared to Cam Newton was a no-brainer, as almost everyone said at the time.

Purdy was still available.

2020 Cam had
TE Ryan Izzo
TE Asaisi
WR Meyers
WR Gunner
WR Byrd
WR Harry

Edelman lasted 6 games. Cam had nobody, but still produced 12 rushing TDs.

2021 Corky had
TE Henry
TE Jonnu Smith
WR Bourne
WR Agahlor
WR Meyers

Corky Mac had a better supporting cast, but padded his numbers vs the worst of the NFL - Jets, Jags, Browns.

I will take my chances with knucklehead Cam and his rushing threat with Corkys roster.

And Mac performed better than ANY of the top 4 QB's drafted before him. We reached the playoffs.

The other Busts have nothing to do with Corky the bust. Corky imploded in the post season from the word go.

He was a 2021 Pro Bowl fraud too. Scored a fake TD and did his awful dance.

Josh and Bill did a fine job with what they had.
=============
And THEN, and THEN, and THEN
Josh left and the GM wasn't up to the task, hiring Patricia and Judge to run the Offense, and especially the OL.

Patricia did not instruct Corky to throw INTs. Watch the tape of all Corkys INTs and all but 1 wasnt his fault. The passing plays were open for TDs, but Corky did not have the arm to get the ball there. So, blame Patricia because Corky Mac is a BUST.

I don't know the discussions between the GM and his bosses as he told them his plans after Josh left. However, what I do know is that Year 3 of the Belichick rebuild was an abject failure, and 2023 was just more of the same.
====
If you all think that the GM looked good after his performance in 2022, so be it. I don't see that way.

Belichick wanted Corky gone.

Thunder kept Corky on.

 

[upstater1]

It makes sense.

Kraft signed off on the Dynasty doc that painted Bill in an awful light. All the anti-BB philosophy they want to do now. Sabotaging BB's hiring would go along with what he's been doing.

This guy might be a bigger ego maniac than Jerry.

The fact that people are doubting this story after watching the Dynasty is hard to believe.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

You guys are giving a lot of weight to rumors put forth by the media and forming your opinions based on that. zi think the truth is somewhere in the middle of all this BS we keep reading.

 

[UrbanCowboy]

What did Bill do to no longer have Bob's trust?

exactly! I remember complaining about my ex-wife to a friend that she always does the same ****. He says "always"?" I say "yep." Then, he asks what the problem is .. you know what your'e getting every time. So spot on! I feel like that applies to Bill. You know EXACTLY what you are getting with him. He's one of the most consistent people alive, or at least that's my sense of it.

 

[ahmed]

I just found this quote from you to be very interesting since you cherry pick all the time when it comes to Bill.

"You look at the entire ownership period though. You don't just cherry pick."

You are confusing speaking about certain aspects as cherry picking. All my replies you are referencing to were about Bill the last few years because that was the topic of those threads.

You would find plenty of replies where I spoke to his record prior to that or threads where I defended him when that was the topic. That is if you look through my posts if you care so much about it.

 

[condon84]

The fact that people are doubting this story after watching the Dynasty is hard to believe.

Not surprising really. There are a lot of posters here who think we won in spite of Belichick and it was all Brady.

 

[Wax Frog]

Stuart Smalley Patriots, for whomever requested a while back...


@Pape @Steve102 @Tunescribe

 

[Clonamery]

However, I suspect that he thought that teams would be lining up at his door waiting to hire him. Perhaps but he's not that naive and probably is happy just talking football and from the looks of things thus far, sure seems that way.

AN ASIDE
I would note that Belichick was paid very well for his services. Yep.

 

[The Gr8est]

Agreed. I'd love for one final "Bill Revenge Tour", I just wish it would've been with the Patriots, just as I was so happy to see Brady do it one more time. Against the Chiefs and Mahomes nonetheless

Can he put one together? That's another question, but I'm pretty damn confident that he has the acumen needed, more than any other coach in the league. He just sorely lacks in trusting and working with staffs he doesn't handpick/have a history with (which, as we know, is probably just as important - but something that could be turned around if he has been humbled)

Imagine BB beats the Pats in a SB.

Thunder would be there but not get to take a SB strut.

The hardest part of that scenario is the Pats actually getting back to a SB.

 

[vicspats]

This whole "Over the Hill" narrative is comical.

All BB needs is a competent QB and he is back in the hunt for a Super Bowl. While I will agree that the vast majority of todays young males are snowflakes and pajama boys, nothing will school them into being men faster than discipline. That is what Bill Belichick is all about. BB's methods work because players want structure and rules and to win. Players eventfully acquire respect for the Head Coach and themselves.

It aint about YOU its about the TEAM and the guy next to you.

I agree with your narrative. It’s not his age, it’s how old he’s going to be, by the time he has the chance to turn things around on a team the way he sees fit. Bills methods of structure doesn’t work for all the athletes today. Many of today’s athletes are not driven by the same goals of yesteryear, I believe that’s obvious. That discipline you speak of doesn’t start at 25, it needs to be as an infant. It’s also not Bills job to raise these young adults, it’s his job to squeeze out wins. It would be interesting to actually hear what Bill has to say about the evolution of the modern athlete in terms of commitment to TEAM…

 

[vicspats]

A couple of things:

- I take reports like this with a bit a grain of salt. If word was coming out that ESPN was doing a story that Belichick wasn't even in the top three candidates for the Atlanta job, Belichick could have had allies try to pin it on Kraft to save face. Or it could be true that Kraft was being petty and tried to sabotage him. Or Kraft was telling the truth to Arthur Blank about Belichick and there was far more behind the scenes that we do not know about. Who knows?
- I think there are two sides to every story. Most people now are being down on Kraft for being petty and look at Belichick was the victim. But I am betting things go both way. It looked like last year that when Belichick kept starting Mac and pulling him game after game, it was less about putting the team in the best position to win and more like he wanted to embarrass Mac and/or Kraft or prove a point to Kraft at the detriment to the team. I am sure there are other petty things Belichick did because Belichick has done plenty of petty things to the league and other teams over the years.
- Let's face it. It was an ugly divorce. You have two alphas who from close to day one had a relationship based on results and not about personal relationships. I don't think either guy ever actually liked either other and even in their best days their relationship never went much farther than a professional one. Just like with Brady, the odds were always good that the end of the relationship would be messy. And just like most messy divorces both sides swing from aggressor and victim depending on the day or incident.
- I will always look at Belichick as the greatest of all time and I will appreciate all he has done. I have gotten a lot of abuse on this board for claiming that he was more important to the Patriots' success in the early part of the dynasty than Brady. So I am not a Belichick hater. But he is responsible for his own downfall with this team and with the league and he created much of the drama surrounding it. So will not feel sorry for him nor even get upset with Kraft if he is trying smear him. You reap what you sow. So I cannot get upset about any of this.

-That Bill has more allies in the media to smear Kraft? Thinking that’s a stretch.
-If in fact Bill was trying to embarrass Mac and or Kraft by pulling him, wouldn’t that potentially say that Bill never wanted Mac from the git go?
- Agree they probly never liked each other. Come from different spectrums of leadership.
- Absolutely more important than Brady at the beginning. Equal as it progressed.
-Agree he did cause his downfall at the end. Ended up playing homage to the great Icarus

 

[vicspats]

For any of you who've managed people, would you give a good recommendation for someone you've fired for poor performance?

Well in a nut shell, it depended on the situation. I’ve even gone as far and gotten some people that I’ve let go other jobs. Sometimes people are hired with the wrong qualifications and skill sets. I've also battled with HR about getting rid of people that suck, and because of insane new practices and protocols, was one of the reasons I finally stepped away.

 

[vicspats]

That was worth a lot more than 2 cents. Thanks.

Unfortunately, the Krafts don't seem to have that in mind. They're the ones doing the talking these days.

They are the ones left holding the big bag ….( of money…)

 

[State]

Put a smile on your face, Bill. You got unemployment. Cuz you were passed over by…Raheem Morris in Atlanta.

And truth be told BB has more football knowledge in his left hamstring than Morris has in toto.

Bill is seething. But there is a PR campaign to be waged.

Put a smile on, Steve’s son!

 

[lancerman]

There is no way that the Patriots could retain Brady since he did not want to play for team with no WRs and a leaky OL. we can blame Bill for that...or maybe we should blame Kraft.

It's pretty clear it was less about the talent and more about Brady not wanting to play for the coach. He said he knew going into the 2019 season that he wasn't going to stay. At the time they still had Edelman (he got injured later), they just drafted Harry who everyone thought was promising, they also made investments like Thomas. The WR's actually looked somewhat like a good situation going into the year.

The most consistent thing we heard is that Brady was not happy with how Bill treated him and didn't feel like he was being valued.enough.

If you want to blame Kraft for Brady leaving, blame him for picking Bill over him.

 

[lancerman]

Purdy was still available.

2020 Cam had
TE Ryan Izzo
TE Asaisi
WR Meyers
WR Gunner
WR Byrd
WR Harry

Edelman lasted 6 games. Cam had nobody, but still produced 12 rushing TDs.

2021 Corky had
TE Henry
TE Jonnu Smith
WR Bourne
WR Agahlor
WR Meyers

Corky Mac had a better supporting cast, but padded his numbers vs the worst of the NFL - Jets, Jags, Browns.

I will take my chances with knucklehead Cam and his rushing threat with Corkys roster.

The other Busts have nothing to do with Corky the bust. Corky imploded in the post season from the word go.

He was a 2021 Pro Bowl fraud too. Scored a fake TD and did his awful dance.

Patricia did not instruct Corky to throw INTs. Watch the tape of all Corkys INTs and all but 1 wasnt his fault. The passing plays were open for TDs, but Corky did not have the arm to get the ball there. So, blame Patricia because Corky Mac is a BUST.

Belichick wanted Corky gone.

Thunder kept Corky on.

If anybody thought Purdy was worth anything he wouldn't have gone last. Let's be real.

This entire fanbase was crying about Cam and wanted a QB. It was obvious we were drafting a QB. Bill sat on his hands like he does every draft and let all the other first round QB's go and took the one that fell to him that had the least risk because he didn't overextend to get him.

If Bill wanted someone else, he should have made a trade or stopped trying to win meaningless games against the Jets when the team was playing bad. Either way, Mac was a Bill pick.

 

[State]

Bill was slated to get the Atlanta job. But he lost to a guy who was the Hofstra defensive backs coach when BB began coaching the Patriots.

Are you ready for your TV gig, Bill? At 72 you’re too old to coach.

You said so yourself regarding Marv Levy.

At least he was literary.

Put that smile on your face, Bill. Form some new creases.

 

[vicspats]

BB needed to be pushed out after the 2022 season. But, yes, I agree that he was glad to go. However, I suspect that he thought that teams would be lining up at his door waiting to hire him.

AN ASIDE
I would note that Belichick was paid very well for his services.

I’m gonna go out on a limb here. Bills money was harder to come by than Roberts.