Is the Patriot Way Really Dead?

For the past two decades the Patriot dynasty, led by Tom Brady and Head Coach Bill Belichick, has ruled over the NFL dominantly. Sadly for some, and just like all good things, that dynasty ended with Brady's departure to Tampa Bay and his eventual retirement. Since Brady left in the 2019 offseason, the Pats have had just one winning season and currently sit at 3-11 this year. With little success since the Quarterback left, many have turned to Bill Belichick with skepticism over his impact on the dynasty. With some calling for Bill to be replaced after this season, one wonders whether the naysayers are correct and whether the famed "Patriot way" is dead.

Managerial History

The most common source of complaints I have seen stems from Bill's questionable General Manager decisions, particularly in the past 4-5 years. Drafting offensive talent has been a real issue for Bill as of late. If we start with 2019 specifically, the Pats selected Nkeal Harry with their first-round selection. Harry has had a disappointing NFL career, unlike a few players chosen AFTER him. Four picks later, the 49ers selected Deebo Samuel in the second round, with lifelong Patriot fan Aj Brown going 15 picks later. However, it doesn't end there, as Seattle also selected DK Metcalf as the last pick in the second round. Three Pro-bowl Wide Receivers went after Harry, and what needs to be clarified is that Harry was never a consensus pick to be better than those three. The Patriots just had their guy and went with it. In 2022, they selected Guard Cole Strange, who the Rams were rumored to have had a mid-round grade on. Strange had a solid rookie campaign but has had to deal with injuries this season. Who went after him is the topic of conversation again, as impact players George Karlaftis, Daxton Hill, and Christian Watson went shortly after him. With the Pats selecting WR Tyquan Thorton in the second round of that draft, who has produced very little so far, the opportunity to get a playmaker in Watson makes hindsight seem even clearer than 20/20.

Staff Choices

Who Bill has chosen as his supporting cast on his coaching staff has raised some eyebrows for a good reason. Belichick's fondness for his former employees has led the Patriots into muddy water, which is most evident with last year's offense. Bill brought in his former Special Teams Coordinator and failed NY Giants Head Coach Joe Judge as his Quarterback Coach. After a dismal stint as Head Coach of the Detroit Lions, longtime collaborator Matt Patricia was brought back as the Offensive Coordinator. It would be one thing if these two had experience in those two Coaching positions, but they didn't. Judge has never been a quarterback coach in his NFL career, and Matt Patricia has been solely a defensive guy for all of his. Even more puzzling about Judge, in particular, is that he couldn't even help out his young QB in NY, Daniel Jones. In Judge's two-year tenure with the GMen, they averaged a league-wide low of 16.3 points per game and had many thinking Jones would be out the door soon enough. Even though New England cut ties at last season's end, Bill's immediate replacement for Offensive Coordinator is another branch off his coaching tree as he hired Bill O'Brien to handle the duties. While O'Brien is a step up, the unwillingness to bring out-of-house minds into the building effectively limits the creativity and innovativeness of the offense. Ultimately, the biggest crime in bringing in those two is that it effectively set the Patriots franchise back due to how badly it stunted the growth of Mac Jones.

Inability to Compensate on Offense

One thing that will never change is that a Belichick defense will always stand on its head and play hard from beginning to end. Even in a disappointing season like this year, the Patriots hold the 8th best defense in yards per game and are 16th in points allowed. While also being top five in rush defense and top 10 in red zone defense, Bill still can scheme up a defense with the best of them. Offensively, the case can be made that Bill is out of touch. With questionable hires and multiple draft misses on offensive talent, the Patriots have been forced to look to free agency for help. Yet again, questionable decisions have hindered this team. Letting Jakobi Myers walk to the Raiders on a three-year 33 million dollar deal only to sign JuJu Smith-Schuster, who has had injury issues and just flat out hasn't produced as well, to the same contract is one move that I just could never understand. Myers has more than triple Juju's yards and has seven touchdowns to his one. New England was heavily involved in Deandre Hopkins talks this offseason, but when push came to shove, Dhop chose Tennesee instead. While in hindsight, Hopkins has had flashes but hasn't been quite the player he has always been. Still, heading into the season, nobody expected the Patriots to be this bad, and adding a Dhop to this team would be better than anyone they currently have. In typical Bill fashion, he chose not to spend the money on the big-time receiver, which isn't a new trait. One of the biggest reasons that Tom Brady left New England was because of Bill's reluctance to get him help later in his career. By the time Brady was about to leave, he was throwing to a beaten-down Julian Edelman and a young Jakobi Myers.  

Conclusion

The biggest takeaway from the latest saga in the Bill Belichick/Patriot era is that he is the greatest Coach of all time, but it's time for him to hang up the managerial decisions. Time passes, things change, and the game is forever evolving; you adapt or get left behind. Belichick's defense is still proving to be formidable in today's game with a weak roster, but his decisions outside of that seem obsolete. The prestigious head coach must abandon some of his old tactics because they have recently hurt his team. He must open up to new school coaching schemes and, more importantly, new people. If Bill's tenure is over after this season, I can promise teams will reach out to him. Whether the future Hall of Fame coach will take another opportunity elsewhere will have to remain to be seen.