The inside story of the Patriots’ fall to rock bottom in the Bill Belichick era

[Steve102]

Quite the BB dunk fest in here. Personally, I find the whole thing unfortunate, disturbing, and a bit sad.

All of the following requires a caveat that we do not know for certain the veracity of the article, even if there is likely at least a reasonable degree of truth:

1. BB has overseen increasing and unforgivable dysfunction in the staff dynamics. Whether it is because of his increasing paranoia after so many high-level guys have left over recent years, or paranoia stemming from the various NYFL witch hunts over the years, or something else, the focus on a "circle of trust" rather than a competent coaching staff is a massive failing.

I used to be on the "Keep BB as coach, not as GM" train, then wavered back and forth on whether we should keep him as a coach. I mostly settled on "I have no ****ing idea". If all of this is true, you would probably have to put me on the side of offering him a chance to resign, out of respect for his achievements. I don't see how he can come back from this.

2. That said, if we think sending BB into retirement will help anything in the near term, it's highly unlikely. We will likely lose key pieces of the braintrust that put together a pretty decent defense, and we still have a massive talent issue on offense and special teams. I hope we catch lightning in a bottle and can contend for the playoffs in the next few years, but it is almost as likely that we may wander the desert of disappointment for a decade or more.

It's the price we're paying for unprecedented success, I suppose. I'm personally throwing all expectations out the window at this point.

3. Perhaps, one of the more interesting things to come to mind is that it really feels like people are bursting at the seams to air the dirty laundry inside Foxboro. It's a sign that BB has truly lost his iron grip on that building. We are not even done with the season (officially) and postmortems are coming out, the likes of which we haven't seen since Brady's departure. I would argue these reports exceed the level of candor in the wake of that craziness.

We are likely going to see more and more coming out, especially if BB is gone as HC of the NEP. If nothing else, it'll be fascinating and a little sad to watch. I'm going to rewatch the 2014 playoffs and SB49 this year on Sundays to wash the bad taste out of my mouth. I'm officially becoming one of those guys who lives in the past.

Nice post.

It's really heartbreaking to me, to be honest. Bill helmed the greatest dynasty the NFL has ever seen. He did it by having players (Brady, Harrison, Troy Brown, Slate, Bruschi) help carry the message. Once those players were gone, the next men up did not have the level of buy in that the team did under Brady's watch, and this is what they get. Now, Bill has to surround himself with coaches who he trusts to parrot him but may not bring enough to the table to overcome the brain drain (Scar, JMcD, RAC, Weis, Daboll, Flo).

Bill The GM let Bill the HC down in so many ways. Completely fouled up the offensive side of the ball, and then didn't fill out his staff with enough fresh minds to compete.

I am really bummed.

The key for the next regime is going to be finding a competent QB and OC.

 

[mike_usagisan]

Add the OL coach selection to that.

I would have chosen Wendy over Klemm.

After reading that article, I wish they had let BoB choose the coach and stick with it. It feels like too many cooks and not enough working on the same page.

 

[sb1]

It is the Thursday before the final game of a horrendous season. When articles like this get published at this point it is obviously intended to serve someone’s agenda. The people whose agendas are to be served want plausible deniability as they know that this will ignite a firestorm irrespective of the decision made about BB.

As I’ve stated before I am expecting this to be the time when Jonathan Kraft, approaching age 60, comes out of Daddy’s shadow to leave his mark. I am not a fan of his but if I were in his position I would look at this as the best opportunity to do so.

I will always be grateful to BB for the incredible success they’ve had for most of the past 24 years. I do not think they would have had anything close to that much success with anyone else as their HC. However, I think the record speaks for itself now and they would all benefit from a change. My private hope these past couple months is for BB to retire or just stay on as an advisor to the Krafts, with no power but as a voice to be respected.

I can also see BB taking a job with the league. He is buddies with Goodell unfortunately. As hard as that is to believe....
Or one of the networks. Would be a great add to one of the pregame or postgame shows. He's still a football encyclopedia and it would be great to see other team fans enjoy him and what he knows as much as we have.

I really think Sunday is his final game as an NFL head coach. Not just in NE, anywhere.

 

[203Pat]

You don't like how coached and developed Brady?

Of course I do. I also think Brady had lightyears more physical talent and drive than Mac does. It was also a completely different era of football. My fear is Bill is trying to develop quarterbacks based off of the way he did in 2001, 2002, etc instead of the way things are done in 2023. A run first and play defense approach doesn't win in 2023. JAG receivers and patchwork offensive lines don't work in 2023. Bill doesn't know how to evolve and shouldn't be able to ruin another first round QB.

Looking forward to your continued misery in a post-BB era. You're going to love it. Same amount of losses or more, but hey maybe we'll have a 1,200 yard WR and blown first rounders on OTs.

This whole "get ready for years of failure!" by team Bill is pathetic. How do you know we don't find a guy who turns it around and has us as Super Bowl contenders in a few years? Will the next coach win 6 super bowls? I can say with complete certainty the answer is no. Will the next coach be able to muster up more than 4 wins in his third year with a first round quarterback? I would say the odds aren't that bad. So continue clinging to the past and clutching to what is familiar and comfortable. Let's just give Bill a nice open ended contract as a lifetime achievement award. He can coach as long as he likes and string together 4 or 5 win seasons until he gets his beloved record. Then he can retire at 80 and we will throw him a ticker tape parade.

So, Corky Mac isn't the problem.

Great to know. WR first pick at # 3. Who do you like?

Corky is a big part of the problem. So is the guy that picked him. Both should go. I like Drake Maye and we should do whatever we need to do to move up and get him.

 

[Tunescribe]

Quite the BB dunk fest in here. Personally, I find the whole thing unfortunate, disturbing, and a bit sad.

All of the following requires a caveat that we do not know for certain the veracity of the article, even if there is likely at least a reasonable degree of truth:

1. BB has overseen increasing and unforgivable dysfunction in the staff dynamics. Whether it is because of his increasing paranoia after so many high-level guys have left over recent years, or paranoia stemming from the various NYFL witch hunts over the years, or something else, the focus on a "circle of trust" rather than a competent coaching staff is a massive failing.

I used to be on the "Keep BB as coach, not as GM" train, then wavered back and forth on whether we should keep him as a coach. I mostly settled on "I have no ****ing idea". If all of this is true, you would probably have to put me on the side of offering him a chance to resign, out of respect for his achievements. I don't see how he can come back from this.

2. That said, if we think sending BB into retirement will help anything in the near term, it's highly unlikely. We will likely lose key pieces of the braintrust that put together a pretty decent defense, and we still have a massive talent issue on offense and special teams. I hope we catch lightning in a bottle and can contend for the playoffs in the next few years, but it is almost as likely that we may wander the desert of disappointment for a decade or more.

It's the price we're paying for unprecedented success, I suppose. I'm personally throwing all expectations out the window at this point.

3. Perhaps, one of the more interesting things to come to mind is that it really feels like people are bursting at the seams to air the dirty laundry inside Foxboro. It's a sign that BB has truly lost his iron grip on that building. We are not even done with the season (officially) and postmortems are coming out, the likes of which we haven't seen since Brady's departure. I would argue these reports exceed the level of candor in the wake of that craziness.

We are likely going to see more and more coming out, especially if BB is gone as HC of the NEP. If nothing else, it'll be fascinating and a little sad to watch. I'm going to rewatch the 2014 playoffs and SB49 this year on Sundays to wash the bad taste out of my mouth. I'm officially becoming one of those guys who lives in the past.

If BB leaves I think the most significant loss will be his game-planning expertise -- in that area he remains without peer. What galls me most from the article is how he has wrecked the coaching staff, with poor roster management a close second. If there was any way to retain him simply as coach, things might work. But having him agree to others managing personnel and forcing him to revamp the staff of assistants seems a nonstarter after decades of BB enjoying full control.

This will be a monumentally daunting fix for the Krafts, gutting and rebuilding the entire football operation from top to bottom. Sad, indeed.

 

[condon84]

Corky is a big part of the problem. So is the guy that picked him. Both should go. I like Drake Maye and we should do whatever we need to do to move up and get him.

Corky will be forced on the new regime next year. Book it.

 

[203Pat]

So was that mutiny put on halt when Zappe started for those two games? Because everyone seemed to know what they were doing for those 2 games.

Huh? What does the mutiny have to do with Zappe playing two games? According to Lazar they ran a simplified version of the offense for Zappe last year.

 

[RobertWeathers]

After reading that article, I wish they had let BoB choose the coach and stick with it. It feels like too many cooks and not enough working on the same page.

In theory that shouldn't have been an issue as BB believes smaller coaching staffs leads to better communication, collaboration and efficiency.

Clearly that has not been the case for a few years now (except the D which BB runs).

 

[203Pat]

Corky will be forced on the new regime next year. Book it.

Don't love it if it happens but I will lose my mind if he is option A next year.

 

[upstater1]

After reading that article, I wish they had let BoB choose the coach and stick with it. It feels like too many cooks and not enough working on the same page.

People might be overreacting to the way the article is framed.

Consider this quote: "A year ago, such disaster caused Kraft to push for coaching changes, which led to the re-hiring of ex-Patriots assistant Bill O’Brien last January. Belichick, according to sources, preferred to keep Patricia and grow together. Instead, Belichick relented, and O’Brien returned as offensive coordinator."

Did this all really happen?

Could it be that Belichick saw the need to move on from Patricia, especially with someone new and familiar to him like O'Brien, but out of loyalty to Patricia, he didn't want to be the one to send him on his way. Belichick "relenting" as the article puts it is really Belichick not wanting to be the fall guy for the firing of Patricia.

This is just speculation and one kind of scenario on my part, but it shows the way that these things play out in the media.

 

[condon84]

Corky will be forced on the new regime next year. Book it.

@archstanton543 why did you dislike this post. I figured you'd be happy with your man crush start QB again next year

 

[archstanton543]

@archstanton543 why did you dislike this post. I figured you'd be happy with your man crush start QB again next year

Because he'll be traded this off season or at the end of training camp.

 

[Steve102]

One of the head-scratchers of receent drafts has been the number of selections at certain positions, while ignoring other positions of need.

Specifically, the Patriots drafted three interior offensive lineman in 2022, after utilizing their 2021 first rounder on a guard. Meanwhile the team has not drafted an OT prior to the 6th round since 2019, when they picked a guy who played in a grand total of 17 games (Yodny Cajuste, at #101 overall).

And during that brief period of time the Pats have also drafted two punters and two kickers.

There is no legitimate explanation for that inexcusable waste of limited draft resources.

I swear, the top end of the draft is such a mess because Bill needs working class guys and not rock stars. WR, QB... obviously those guys come out with silver spoons. Young guys who are highly paid. OT, more specifically, LT guys at the top of the draft have evolved into that as well. LT, WR, QB all make a lot of money, while middle of the line guys far less so. I think Bill has avoided them throughout his tenure, to the point that his first reaction now is "eff that", maybe even on a subconscious level. He reverts to picking a guy like Gonzalez because he knows how to deal with diva CBs better than anyone else on the roster.

Just a theory anyway.

He loves special teams, so he takes Ryland and Baringer because they are not going to eff up the locker room or the spread sheet. Some high end WR might be a locker room lawyer, same with a LT. Took a flier on Mac and then ruined him with his hardline style as opposed to altering his approach to what the player might have needed. I mean, why would Bill change? His system and style worked for his whole career. Until it didn't

It's a mess.

 

[upstater1]

Here's another weird quote: "The Herald could not confirm whether O’Brien wanted to remake the offensive staff, but O’Brien’s frustration with the wide receivers and offensive line coaches began bubbling as soon as the late spring. Both position groups feature underdeveloped high draft picks"

Late Spring? Klemm just got there. The only underdeveloped high draft pick at OL was Cole Strange, who had a decent year as a rookie guard. Certainly better than, for instance, Cyrus O'Torrence with the Bills, who was a guy drafted in Strange's range a year later.

What kind of quote is this about O'Brien? What does it mean? I can see criticism about Troy Brown and Tyquan Thornton, but it makes absolutely no sense when it comes to Klemm and Strange. Klemm had just arrived there, Strange had a good rookie year.

What kind of reporting is this?

 

[PWRxWLF]

Back up the brinks and land Harbaugh. The dude is tough as nails, knows young qb’s, has proven success and could handle the NE media and Bills shadow. I hate the Harbaughs, but I cant think of anyone more prepared to handle the adversity and put a quality product on the field.

 

[PatsFan2]

People might be overreacting to the way the article is framed.

Consider this quote: "A year ago, such disaster caused Kraft to push for coaching changes, which led to the re-hiring of ex-Patriots assistant Bill O’Brien last January. Belichick, according to sources, preferred to keep Patricia and grow together. Instead, Belichick relented, and O’Brien returned as offensive coordinator."

Did this all really happen?

Could it be that Belichick saw the need to move on from Patricia, especially with someone new and familiar to him like O'Brien, but out of loyalty to Patricia, he didn't want to be the one to send him on his way. Belichick "relenting" as the article puts it is really Belichick not wanting to be the fall guy for the firing of Patricia.

This is just speculation and one kind of scenario on my part, but it shows the way that these things play out in the media.

You never cease to amaze.

 

[Steve102]

If BB leaves I think the most significant loss will be his game-planning expertise -- in that area he remains without peer. What galls me most from the article is how he has wrecked the coaching staff, with poor roster management a close second. If there was any way to retain him simply as coach, things might work. But having him agree to others managing personnel and forcing him to revamp the staff of assistants seems a nonstarter after decades of BB enjoying full control.

This will be a monumentally daunting fix for the Krafts, gutting and rebuilding the entire football operation from top to bottom. Sad, indeed.

 

[PatsFan2]

Here's another weird quote: "The Herald could not confirm whether O’Brien wanted to remake the offensive staff, but O’Brien’s frustration with the wide receivers and offensive line coaches began bubbling as soon as the late spring. Both position groups feature underdeveloped high draft picks"

Late Spring? Klemm just got there. The only underdeveloped high draft pick at OL was Cole Strange, who had a decent year as a rookie guard. Certainly better than, for instance, Cyrus O'Torrence with the Bills, who was a guy drafted in Strange's range a year later.

What kind of quote is this about O'Brien? What does it mean? I can see criticism about Troy Brown and Tyquan Thornton, but it makes absolutely no sense when it comes to Klemm and Strange. Klemm had just arrived there, Strange had a good rookie year.

What kind of reporting is this?

Nitpick much stater??

 

[upstater1]

I swear, the top end of the draft is such a mess because Bill needs working class guys and not rock stars. WR, QB... obviously those guys come out with silver spoons. Young guys who are highly paid. OT, more specifically, LT guys at the top of the draft have evolved into that as well. LT, WR, QB all make a lot of money, while middle of the line guys far less so. I think Bill has avoided them throughout his tenure, to the point that his first reaction now is "eff that", maybe even on a subconscious level. He reverts to picking a guy like Gonzalez because he knows how to deal with diva CBs better than anyone else on the roster.

Just a theory anyway.

He loves special teams, so he takes Ryland and Baringer because they are not going to eff up the locker room or the spread sheet. Some high end WR might be a locker room lawyer, same with a LT. Took a flier on Mac and then ruined him with his hardline style as opposed to altering his approach to what the player might have needed. I mean, why would Bill change? His system and style worked for his whole career. Until it didn't

It's a mess.

??

Shut down CBs are the second biggest rock stars in the entire league.

After WRs.

Obviously we drafted a QB

 

[Tunescribe]

In theory that shouldn't have been an issue as BB believes smaller coaching staffs leads to better communication, collaboration and efficiency.

Clearly that has not been the case for a few years now (except the D which BB runs).

It seems clear that BOB was undermined (and the offense consequently hamstrung), not being allowed to bring in his own assistants while forced to work with holdovers he considered inadequate. As much as I loved Troy Brown as a player, I suspect he's been a subpar coach. And the Klemm situation was a disaster. The quarterbacks room sounds like a dysfunctional nightmare. What a mess.