5 pros and cons of firing New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick

How does making the playoffs 18 times in 24 seasons sound to you (we can assume no postseason this year)? Or being by far the most successful NFL franchise since 2000? You would take that in a minute, right?

Well, hello, New England Patriots fan! That is exactly what you have gotten since Bill Belichick became the Patriots head coach in 2000.

The question is whether you take what you have seen recently and transition that in your brain to come up with the following resolution: "It's time for a change at the head coaching position for my Patriots!" The question one should ask when there is a significant change of leadership (or quarterback) is whether the replacement for your current position is any better.

Maybe New England has struggled in 2023, but is Bill Belichick the problem?

Maybe you want Josh McDaniels to take over as HC? OK< that was a joke. No one wants that. But here is the good and bad from potentially replacing Belichick in 2024.

Pro No. 1 - Bill Belichick has too much control in New England

The only way of getting true change is to remove Belichick completely. Leaving him as general manager means he still has a lot of roster control, which appears to be the majority of New England's problems. Belichick can coach; we know that. He might have had Tom Brady at quarterback, making him look good for many years offensively, but Belichick always came up with new looks on defense - and for seemingly every game - unlike any coach ever.

The team has obviously regressed since Tom Brady left before the 2020 season, yet the team still made the playoffs in 2021 with rookie quarterback Mac Jones. Jones wasn't the reason the Patriots were winning football games, however. Bill Belichick was. And still, while the team has had enough money to spend in free agency, Belichick has rarely done a good job in NFL drafts.

Even if New England hires a new head coach, will Belichick let that coach run the on-field part of the team? Or will the new coach just be a coach in name while Belichick pulls the strings?

I would try to ask Belichick myself, but all I would get is a grumble.