New England Patriots Thread Mod Warning Post #253

AbusesToilets

So, in a theoretical where Belichick walks, who would be a good option to replace him? Harboraugh would be an obvious one, with a pretty solid pedigree. Wouldn't be to keen on Bienemy, strikes me as someone made to look amazing because of Mahomes. Has to be a reason no team has picked him up. Not sold on the idea of Mayo taking over, don't think that he's shown enough.

Any promising coaches in college land who would be worth considering?

Christy42

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121567242#Comment_121567242

I suspect Harbaugh is not an option for the Pats. Herbert would be a massive draw for any coach.

Other college coaches will be a risk but a risk must be taken. Coaching in college is just a different skill set.

eagle eye

Which Harbaugh? John will never be in New England. I personally wouldn't want him, not that it makes any difference what I want.😁

There's a possibility Jim leaves Michigan with all the current controversy.

colmufc

Mike Vrabel

AbusesToilets

Now we wait. I'm not expecting anything tomorrow, but I think it really comes down to whether Bill is willing to accept bringing in someone from the outside to be involved with the GM side.

CMcsporty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121585323#Comment_121585323

Hope that Bill and Kraft part ways this week. If it doesn't happen this week it will be acrimonious and somewhat spoil what's gone before.

Plus it will be enthralling to see BB at another team. No way he's going to walk away without trying to win another SB.

I don't understand the beat down on BB and saying it was mostly Brady that won those 6 SBs.

el Fenomeno

Initial quotes are positive if you take it them at face value.

https://twitter.com/ezlazar/status/1744338665482998023?s=20

Of course, given that it's Belichick - that could be a standard autofill response to brush off the question.

My ideal scenario is that Belichick remains as head coach, Mayo stays in his current position, and a new GM comes in.

I'm torn on the offence and whether I want a completely new offensive coordinator, or I want BOB to stay and allowed fill out his own staff. He wasn't allowed do the latter last year so I'm somewhat willing to give him a pass.

Whatever happens, there is a massive ask on offence as you need to invest heavily at almost every position, and I'm not sure there's enough flexibility in the draft and FA to hit all the positions.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121586592#Comment_121586592

When did you start supporting the Patriots? Are you a fairweather fan that cannot take a couple of bad seasons? Do you realise how tough it is to stay on top as long as the Patriots did.

I suppose you put all the success down to Tom Brady.

You couldn't be more wrong if you do. Our defense won two of our Superbowls and shared two more, Brady and the offense won the other two. At least two of our losses, to the Giants twice seen the offense not score 20 points. In those two losses the defense conceded 17 and 21 points.

Tom Brady is the greatest NFL player of all time but no player can win Superbowls on his own. Bill Belichick is the great coach of all time.

He should step back from the GM role, we've had a couple of bad drafts and at 70 he should only be concentrating on one job and that's being the head coach of the New England Patriots.

We are four players away from being serious contenders again, that's a QB, two offensive tackles and an elite wide receiver.

To have the temerity to suggest that Bill should should be fired is plain ridiculous and stupid.

Apologies if my honesty offends you.

CMcsporty

Get off your high horse

I lived in Boston and went to Foxboro long long before you appeared on boards OR Brady even in NE

As for calling people stupid...read the post again 'eagle eye'

& you can shove your insincere apology

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121590495#Comment_121590495

I lived in Boston long before I was on boards. I was a season ticket holder for a few seasons.

It started out as bad times when we were a joke of a franchise just before Bob Kraft bought it.

So you can shove your know-it-all crap.

You want the greatest coach in the history of the NFL fired. It's the first sentence in the post I quoted. That's the stupid bit.

If you look at the team, the defense is still great. All we need is a good draft and some good signings in FA for the offense and we'll be serious contenders again.

We need four players, two offensive tackles, an elite wide receiver and a QB. We can get the QB in the draft, we can get a tackle in the draft and we could get lucky and find that receiver too. Whatever we can't get there we need to sign in FA.

Tbh I'm not sure we even need a QB, get the tackles and the receiver and all you need to start out is a game manager.

Now I've said I'd like Bill to step back from his GM role, he's too defense oriented to do that job, you need somebody with balance in that position. He's still an awesome coach.

The other thing we need to do is resign Kyle Dugger.

dh1985

You might want to re read the post the guy had posted before prematurely going off on one. He was complimentary of BB and said he didn't want a couple of bad seasons to sour his legacy. Had also stated he attributed the SB wins to Bill as well as brady. Talk about getting the wrong end of the stick.

As for the "couple of bad drafts". Our drafts have underwhelmed for a decade. The buck stops with Bill on that one.

I would think it's not your honesty that's offensive but your poor comprehension of the written word.

CMcsporty

Oh dear! Life is too short

Anyway…Vrabel the next head coach of Patriots.

helimachoptor

Seems that way, appears there was some tension with the new titans GM and Vrabel, this means Vrabel has got the bullet. Not very happy about it tbh

CMcsporty

Crazy decision to get rid but it’s great for Kraft! You couldn’t ask for a better fit to replace Bill.

cosatron

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121593867#Comment_121593867

Crazy decision by the Titans.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121593774#Comment_121593774

'Hope that Bill and Kraft part ways this week.'

Which part of the above sentence am I failing to comprehend?

And just on the drafts. Christian Gonzalez looks great. Rhamondre Stevenson, Kyle Dugger, Josh Uche, Afernee Jennings were drafted in the last four years. Cole Strange looks decent in his second year and Keion White had a good rookie year.

The drafts haven't been bad. The problem is we don't generally do well with offensive player picks outside of running backs and guards.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121593986#Comment_121593986

Bill is going nowhere and anybody who thinks Vrabel is currently or ever was as good as or better than Bill Belichick should stop airing their stupidity out loud

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121594234#Comment_121594234

A perfect fit for the Chargers I think.

CMcsporty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121593774#Comment_121593774

Fair play! As Fr. Noel Furlong would say of him "You're going on my list, Tony"

Good breakdown on where BB has focused his Draft picks. Obvs heavily weighted on defense.

https://www.patriots.com/news/trends-in-patriots-draft-history-during-the-bill-belichick-era-297416

Completely agree on the draft performance since the 2012 trade ups for Chandler Jones and Hightower.

CWMMC

Now can we end who we think the better Quarterback is? Going to be sad watching the playoffs tho without the Patriots in it.

ArmaniJeanss

If BB stays we are one of just 5 teams (I calculate) who are available for Hard Knocks - selection rules are 'haven't made the playoffs in two years, head-coach can't be in his first season, and haven't been featured on Hard Knocks in previous 10 years. So it's limited to Colts, Broncos, Bears, Patriots, Saints (unless I've missed some).

I think Patriots or Broncos would be the stand-outs from that list.

AbusesToilets

Hoping Bill's hinting at being willing to give up GM duties is a sign that he can adapt and make the necessary changes.

If we draft a QB, he needs to be treated better than how Mac was. O'Brien can be an effective OC, but he also needs to be able to bring in his own guys.

eagle eye

I'm thinking/hoping Josh will be back which would be a great help. Mac looked good in his rookie year with Josh as OC, the last two years........

StringerBell

I hope Bill stays as coach, would be very open to the idea of someone taking the GM reins or at the very least having a pretty big say in the offensive side of recruitment but no way I want to see BB out the door.

ELM327

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121599298#Comment_121599298

There's just something about Josh that makes him a great QB focused OC but a terrible HC.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121600647#Comment_121600647

Yeah, it's like he turns into a dictator when he gets a head coaching job.

A head coach has to make it enjoyable for everybody. You'll get the best out of your players if they like you.

CWMMC

Bill is set to leave. An era has come to an end for us.

CMcsporty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121601223#Comment_121601223

It's the right thing to do. Hope Bill and Kraft hug it out.

el Fenomeno

Very sad day. I think it's the wrong decision, but will wait for the inside scoop. If BB wasn't willing to relinquish GM duties or let BOB flesh out his own offensive staff, then I guess hands were tied.

Still feels like a punch to the gut.

CWMMC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121601303#Comment_121601303

I know the right thing, but still sad to see now.

ELM327

I'll believe it when I see it from an official outlet, not before/

As bad the GM Bill is , Bill the coach is still very much an asset and we shouldnt be firing him. Of course if he simply wants to retire then thats different.

EDIT: From the patriots official twitter, looks like there's something to the rumors alright

https://twitter.com/Patriots/status/1745424537305444814

CMcsporty

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121601303#Comment_121601303

Of course. The greatest. Great memories for us all.

It was time. I wanted BB to win another with Patriots without TB. It wasn't going to happen after this season.

ELM327

I see now why he's retiring. Bill is fond of an aul' statistic, right?

If he loses one more game as coach, he'll have the most losses ever by an NFL coach. I reckon he thought he'd become the winningest head coach before becoming the "losingest" head coach.

el Fenomeno

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121601433#Comment_121601433

I don't think anyone has said he's retiring...

CMcsporty

No chance he's retiring. Next stop Cowboys or Eagles.

StringerBell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121601338#Comment_121601338

My own feelings exactly.

A sad day as a Pat, and I think a mistake unless he refused to hand over some front office control etc.

Where next for the Goat I would say the Falcons will make a big play, Washington too.

eagle eye

I'm not believing it until 5pm when they address the media. There's nothing about it on Patriots.com.

Sources for the Patriots is a joke. I don't think anybody outside of Bill and Kraft senior and junior know what's going on.

If he is gone I hope they are promoting from within. I'd be happy with Jerod or Steve.

If he is gone I hope it's his idea.

Still the best coach on the planet, our defense, without Judon and Gonzalez, was top five in the league despite spending a lot of time on the field.

Just a couple of tackles and an elite wide receiver needed to put us back as serious contenders. We might need a QB too but that's not as crucial as the other positions.

If they don't promote from within it wouldn't surprise me if Dugger, Jennings and Uche all decide they want out.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121601773#Comment_121601773

How about Alabama? That's what I'd fancy he'd do

StringerBell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121601978#Comment_121601978

I think he will want to break the wins record so will stay in NFL is my reasoning.

ELM327

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121601572#Comment_121601572

I don't see him going elsewhere. no one is going to hire him as GM Bill so it would be a HC job and I can't see why he'd leave NE to go somehwere else.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121601964#Comment_121601964

It's on the official patriots page that Bill is in front of the media today so it will clear it up pretty quickly I'd say.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121602004#Comment_121602004

Yeah it's 5pm.

eagle eye

I'm upset now, very upset.

From what Kraft said it sounds like Bill already has another job.

Hopefully its Jerod or Steve that gets the job.

I'll apologise in advance if it's anybody else because I'll be criticising every stupid thing I see.

el Fenomeno

I have a feeling Steve will be following him wherever he goes, perhaps with a promotion to DC.

Coreyhotline

Couldn’t say he doesn’t deserve it if he does go. Always hard to tell if it’s the father or son but seemed to be really well regarded by the players. Sad day to see bill go but delighted it was at least done properly, neither party deserved a **** show. On a side note, from what little I saw of the press conference, bob looked shaky and frail. Not wishing him ill health, but might be time to turn the reins over to Jonathon and make a clean break with history. Final thought, when I heard there was a press conference, I was really hoping we’d get one last classic bill stonewalling. Probably not the day for it, but boy it would have been funny.

As to the future, I think I could live with vrabel or mayo. I’d prefer vrabel solely on the basis that looking back at prior Super Bowls, with the exception of McVay and the rams, pretty much everyone has been won by a team coached by someone with significant nfl experience (and in most cases a HOF worthy qb). I definitely don’t want Jim harbaugh, can’t stand him.

el Fenomeno

Harbaughs personality rubs me the wrong way, but there's no doubting his credentials and players love playing for him. He'd be a tremendous hire if available IMO.

Coreyhotline

I’m sure harbaugh could be successful. However this is a massive rebuild. Aside from a new gm and coach, we’ll probably need significant replacements across the coaching staff. I assume the belichicks are gone, I assume Klemm is gone because of his health problems, I’m not sure if o’brien stays, so could be a situation where all 3 sides of the front office need significant new blood (offence, defence, personnel). I always felt harbaugh got lucky in terms of the roster he inherited, he’ll have no such luck this time around.

AbusesToilets

Big sad today

Tucker.Tim

He got stale and couldn’t build anything post-Brady. Bad QB picks like Jones were the nail in his coffin. Goodwill even for someone with six titles is finite.

Even at nearly 72 there is definitely an organisation like the Commanders that would give him nearly as much free reign as he had in New England but the suspicion remains the sport may have passed him by and if he couldn’t do it in NE it’s hard to imagine him doing it anywhere else.

The best shot for him is probably a team already on the bubble where him being the HC might galvanise them for a run for a year or two.

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121603967#Comment_121603967

Dont see the Commanders going near him. New owners seem to be building out a very forward looking approach with a hands on Head of Football Ops over a GM and HC. Don't see there being any room for Bill in that model even if he wanted a part of it, which I doubt he would as he'll want way more control.

Out of the open ones I'd say Falcons, Panthers, Raiders have the type of owners that would be interested in making a splash and bringing in a big name. Falcons probably the most appealing from a Bill perspective, I just cant see Bill living in Vegas and dealing with Davis and the Panthers is too long of a build and again cant see him dealing with Tepper. More likely is one of the playoff teams if they get booted - like the Cowboys.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121603967#Comment_121603967

You see this thing of calling Jones a bad QB just annoys me.

Think about rookie season under Josh and he looks like the best from the draft class. So we are all expecting a jump in year two but Josh gets the Raiders job and he's stuck with two defensive coaches as his bosses and an offensive line that's basically a disaster. On to year three and we have hope that BoB might improve things but no the offensive line gets even worse, I didn't think that was possible.

I'm not saying that Mac Jones is a great, good or even average QB but nobody knows because he's been in a dire situation where it's impossible to gauge what he's like.

Look at Patrick Mahomes this season. He doesn't have a great bunch of receiver's and his line isn't as good as it was, not even remotely as bad as the Patriots, and he's been struggling and looks a long way off the QB that's amazed us all for the last five years.

If we didn't see what Patrick did for the last five years what would we say based on this season alone?