New England Patriots should move on from Belichick after 2022

The New England Patriots might be heading towards a massive change for their franchise, and moving on from Belichick might be smart in the long run.  Perhaps this is a wildly unpopular opinion, as Belichick is the best coach in the history of the NFL, but I think his style is slowly withering away in today’s NFL.

Belichick isn’t perfect.  He’s the de facto general manager of the team, and he’s made some questionable free agency and draft decisions.  Sure, he’s been able to continually build strong offensive lines, but I sense that his style of operation is beginning to get old to Robert Kraft.  His decision to draft Mac Jones last year and spend a ton of money in free agency appears to have been a mostly smart investment.

Mac Jones does look the part and could end up being the long-term guy in New England, but many of those free agency decisions were because of failed draft picks.  That continued with trading for DeVante Parker to try and cover up his inability to draft high quality skill players.  Today’s NFL is more and more moving towards a much, much bigger priority on the offensive side of the ball.

Teams are hiring offensive minded head coaches and swinging big on offensive skill players.  Offense has now appeared to be the side of the ball that wins games and championships.  Team success is also relating to the coaching staff.  The most successful teams in the NFL are loaded with proactive, forward thinking coaches.  Fortunately, Belichick appears to be one of those coaches, but he hasn’t shown that type of ability since Josh McDaniels left.

Could Belichick hire a legitimate offensive coordinator next offseason?  Sure, he definitely could, but the games he’s been playing with the coaching staff this offseason have led me to believe he’s trying too hard to be clever.  Bill Belichick has had the greatest career of any coach in the history of the NFL, but I think his style, as I’ve said in other pieces, is beginning to fade away.

The Patriots not naming an offensive coordinator or having a clear-cut play caller yet is troubling news.  If Robert Kraft believes that sticking with Mac Jones is the right thing to do, it might be time to take a swing on a young, offensive mind.  Many of these types of hires have appeared to work out in the NFL.  One of my concerns with keeping Belichick around as the head coach is that the Patriots will keep falling more and more behind the rest of the league.

It does seem likely that the team will miss the playoffs for the second time in three seasons, and given the ridiculous success that Belichick has had in New England, doesn’t that raise massive concern?  Belichick and Kraft should come to an agreement after the 2022 season–Belichick steps down as the head coach and moves into a front office advisory role, while they vet the league to try and keep up with the rest in finding a high quality, offensive coach.