One of the favorite expressions I learned in B-school about management in any field (and it certainly applies to sports) is "Management means having to make irrevocable decisions based on inadequate information."
When Belichick decided not to return "his job" to Bledsoe, he only had his gut and the experience of a relative handful of games on which to rely. It was an irrevocable decision, as his relationship with Drew would never be the same again and Bledsoe would have to be gone from the Patriots the next year, no matter how things turned out with Brady.
The ability to make decisions like that consistently correctly (not "always," but "consistently") is what separates the "Great" from the "Near Great," the "Good," the "Just OK" and the "Wannabes" (though I do agree with the posters who commented that BB will go to Canton on the strength of his three rings with the Pats and two with the Giants).
