BASED ON WHAT WE SAW HERE IN NEW ENGLAND:
This counts only as a mild surprise to me. The Belichick of 2000 was not the one who got fired in 2024. Some fans assume people don't change ever. But people do. Belichick of the early dynasty era had the humility and self-awareness to surround himself with players and coaches that presented a challenge. Maybe/likely because of his experience in Cleveland.
But overwhelming success started to erode those safeguards. He didn't need to rein himself in. And hey, it's not like his success was your standard 'great coach' success. Bill had done what no other coach in history had done.
LET ME REITERATE: I am in awe of what he accomplished. I would not trade his time here for anything. BUT I am aware of what became his flaws.
That historic success likely cemented in his mind that he didn't need to limit himself like he had in 2000. He didn't feel he needed to be challenged by players or coaches anymore. If they didn't fall in line after seeing those Lombardis... then how smart were they?
The most outward manifestation of this was the Matt Patricia as OC experiment. Even in the preseason, when games were at their most vanilla, it was clear MP was in over his head. Multiple analysts were in shock at just how bad his playcalling was. It broke Mac Jones. Maybe he didn't have that far to go to be broken, but the goal should have been building him up, not leaving him wondering what he was supposed to be doing.
WHAT UNC HAS SHOWN ME... he learned NOTHING from his dismissal in New England. If anything, he got worse. To me, it is fairly clear he views the college game with a certain degree of superiority. The crowd of yes-men has grown stronger. His obliviousness to their failings is apparent. His carelessness with the rules of the NCAA is flagrantly obvious.
All that's left of 2000's Belichick is that incredible football mind. And it's time for him to go.
