Belichick’s Long Term Plans

LJRomanoff said:

Belichick won playoff games with the Browns and coached a Matt Cassel QBd team to 11-5. He'll figure it out. Neither he nor Kraft are tankers like the Colts.

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Here’s a question: how would Matt Cassel have developed if he remained under Belichick’s tutelage instead of being traded to KC? Say Brady’s knee remains a problem and he’s forced to retire, so Cassel stays in NE as Belichick’s starter. He went 11-5 in his first year as starter, does he continue to consistently perform at that level and perhaps continue his development to be even better?

I'm pretty sure that Jimmy Garoppolo was "the chosen one". When that changed and Tom made it clear that he wasn't getting out of the way any time soon, my guess is that it made Belichick determined to re-assert himself (hence all the back-and-forth about Alex Guerrero) and made it more likely that he'll go on after Brady retires. Where the next quarterback is coming from is anybody's guess, though.

Observer said:

The real question is what in the world compelled you to become a Jaguars fan? Doesn’t seem like something one would do voluntarily.

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You know, they used to say chit like that around here. 1-15, Rod Rust, Hugh Millen-ated and blacked out games. even Parcells said they could have an archery conest in the stadium on game day and not hit anyone. It's not always gonna be like this.

Can you imagine how many coaches will be hired and fired between NOW and BB’s retirement ?

My guess is that BB will coach for at least a few years after Brady retires. Not to prove anything but to get things resituated post Brady. I think that means a focus on building up the defense to support a rookie or young QB.

luuked said:

He said this once about 10 years ago. Beat guys and national guys have said again and again that he got refreshed when he got his sons onto the staff and they are expecting him to be here for quite a while. Hell he even said it himself at some point according to Curran that he hopes that all of this continues for a long time (see QuickSlants interview with the Krafts).

If health allows he will be here for another 5-7 years at least.

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Hope you are right

SamusAranX said:

Funny.

I’ve been in Florida most of my life. My parents said I picked them as my favorite team when I was super young and never looked back.

I’m basically engaging in self torture at this point. Last year was our one good year for every ten lousy ones that we get. We always have the misfortune of meeting up with the Pats when we’re on a roll it’s seems

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I respect you for sticking with your team.
I have NO respect for people that ignore their local team and jump on some winning teams bandwagon.
I've been a Patriots fan since they began.
I've endured a 1-15 season and aluminum benches when it was 20'.
I'm from Boston but moved down south in 1991-Pats were the worst team in the NFL that year.
But I've never wavered.
The Brady/BB era is sweeter for me than it is for all the Patriots fans millenials- because I stuck with them through hard times.
All it takes is a good owner. Jags have had some success. Hang in there, your time will come. I just hope not in my lifetime.

SamusAranX said:

I can’t help but think of the Dolphins having been mired in mediocrity since Marino leaving.

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Who??????

Tony2046 said:

My guess is that BB will coach for at least a few years after Brady retires. Not to prove anything but to get things resituated post Brady. I think that means a focus on building up the defense to support a rookie or young QB.

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Kinda my feeling as well. Say Brady retires in a few years. Bill will be turning 70 the next season. By that time the core; Brady, Edelman, Gronk, McCourty, Hightower, Chung and more are all likely retired. I think he hangs around 1 or 2 more years to help transition the team to its next phase and help develop the QB and show “the Patriot Way” to the next generation. Then he’s off to the front office as a consultant and drinking beers on the fishing boat with Jimmy Johnson.

TommyBrady12 said:

I wouldn't take the word of beat guys and national guys. All I know is Bill said in the past he didn't want to coach into his 70s. Maybe he change his mind, but I wouldn't trust the media to know his plans.

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I’d take the wors of guys who around him every day more than what he said at a point 10 years ago. His children being on staff changed the entire equation. He will want to be there for Stephen to become DC. He will want to be there for Brian to move up.

But whatever we will see.

Ivan said:

Hope you are right

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That makes two of us.

Mr. Kraft has seen his 175 Million investment turn into 3.8 billions of dollars, and is aware of how they got there.. BB & #12 have helped his investment expand exponentially.. then there is the adulation that he gets.. for those reasons BB and #12 will always be part of this franchise in one capacity or the other..

I suspect that BB will be move to a less demanding mentoring position and #12 will always be the face of the franchise..

Deus Irae said:

It's 3-4 years down the road, so I don't know what to tell you beyond that.


I can tell you that a lot of the problems in Miami have been because ownership there has been a **** show for decades.

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How do you believe Flores will fare? Do you envision him being any more successful than the recent guys?

jimnance said:

I respect you for sticking with your team.
I have NO respect for people that ignore their local team and jump on some winning teams bandwagon.
I've been a Patriots fan since they began.
I've endured a 1-15 season and aluminum benches when it was 20'.
I'm from Boston but moved down south in 1991-Pats were the worst team in the NFL that year.
But I've never wavered.
The Brady/BB era is sweeter for me than it is for all the Patriots fans millenials- because I stuck with them through hard times.
All it takes is a good owner. Jags have had some success. Hang in there, your time will come. I just hope not in my lifetime.

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I could never leave my Jags. I would only renounce my fandom should they leave Jacksonville, which is still very unlikely at this point.

Gumby said:

BB has a pretty std strategy when he has a surprise shortfall in a position: 'throw everything (multiple draft/FA/UDFA) at the wall and see what sticks. '

Now with QB position, the league has made it too key. So i am sure BB will try to draft an heir. But if it looks like that heir is a Sanchize in TB's last year; he will hope out and get a solid FA QB and draft another qb too. He got to 11-5 with a backup before, so I could see it happening again with an avg FA or rookie or 2d/3d yr developmental.

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This makes sense. In his first year he carried four quarterbacks and that was right after Bledsoe was given like the biggest and longest contract ever. That must of looked insane at the time and I wonder if everyone thought the new coach was crazy/bad for doing so (anyone remember?). And what a signal to send to Bledsoe.

So, the year after Brady retires it probably wouldn't seem crazy to see four QBs on the roster again if the developmental one wasn't already in place.

Adam Seward said:

They had success with Cassel and love Hoyer.

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No one loves Hoyer, and success with Cassel looked like missing the playoffs with an easy schedule and the greatest offense of all-time.

Generally speaking you need great quarterback play to win in the NFL. Cassels and Hoyers, as we've seen on every team that tried to use them as starters after they left the Patriots, ain't gonna get you ****.

tasmlab said:

This makes sense. In his first year he carried four quarterbacks and that was right after Bledsoe was given like the biggest and longest contract ever. That must of looked insane at the time and I wonder if everyone thought the new coach was crazy/bad for doing so (anyone remember?). And what a signal to send to Bledsoe.

So, the year after Brady retires it probably wouldn't seem crazy to see four QBs on the roster again if the developmental one wasn't already in place.

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The money was definitely huge but the educated fan needed to dig into the details.

My memory of the deal was it was Kraft taking public credit for the signing but it had BBs fingerprints all over it. I remember the contract structure saving the team cap space in 2001 and having several "out" clauses without any long term cap hits or major cash being doled out.

BB keeping 4 QBs in 2000 was a message to Drew.

As to Bill's longevity, the biggest factor in him staying is how much he enjoys doing the job. Clearly at this point, he does. As a fan who regularly goes to the TC practices over the years, you can see how actively he is involved in directly coaching players, from the starters to the camp fodder on both the offensive and defensive sides. He LOVES it. It's just not work to him. So as long as it feels that way to him, he will be here.

Brady is the GOAT. To think the team will be as good after he leaves is probably unrealistic. That being said, however, I don't see there being a huge drop off. My guess will be that the team will move from being elite EVERY year, to being "good" every year, and every now and then rise to being elite, much like most of the "good" teams. So instead of being in the playoffs EVERY year, 3 out of 5 will become the norm, and in those seasons we don't make the playoffs fans will have to "endure" just 8 or 9 wins.

In other words, for fans of the Pats who didn't endure the first 40 years of the team's existence, they will go from being TOTALLY spoiled, to being relatively spoiled.

PatsBoy12 said:

How do you believe Flores will fare? Do you envision him being any more successful than the recent guys?

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I think a lot is going to depend on the QB situation. It's so obvious that it's basically a cop out, but it still holds true. Marvin Lewis notwithstanding, there aren't many coaches surviving without a legit QB.

He's been smart enough to bring in some veteran former coaches (Caldwell, Capers), which should help a great deal in the first year.

tasmlab said:

This makes sense. In his first year he carried four quarterbacks and that was right after Bledsoe was given like the biggest and longest contract ever. That must of looked insane at the time and I wonder if everyone thought the new coach was crazy/bad for doing so (anyone remember?). And what a signal to send to Bledsoe.

So, the year after Brady retires it probably wouldn't seem crazy to see four QBs on the roster again if the developmental one wasn't already in place.

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BB has carried 4 abs in several other years as well. Just usually the 4th was on PS.

And it was not all that unusual. Remember the patriots are one of the few teams that only carry 2QBs on the active 53. most carry 3 and may/may not stash a dev qb on ps.

And BB never did that (carry only 2) back in the Drew days. I don't think that was a slight on Drew, but rather 50% the league allowed you to hit the qb more then and 50% bb only was willing to take that risk once TB showed him he would not take days off, even with ' balls swollen to the size of grapefruits' as the story goes.

But if Etling is developed and they draft another qb this year, it will be an interesting TC for the qb position for once. I expect Hoyer to stick one more year, but if they use a hi pick AND Etling looks good, they will have to cut someone.