Belichick?

[Boone]

Thought this was worth it's own thread.

Some swirling rumors about BB's exit from New England all but a done deal and that he has his next destination already lined up. There are only a couple teams in a situation where that would even be a possiblity. Washington is one of them.

I was going to talk about this on the pod, but think I'll just put it here. We as fans are making a lot of assumptions heading into this offseason. The first is that Harris will do a total housecleaning. I am very confident that this will happen. Another big assumption we are making is that Harris and company will rebuild the franchise 'the right way' - defined as hiring a young up and coming GM, or a proven one, giving him/her the keys to the castle, and getting out of the way and letting them build it as they see fit. But there's one thing that could be problematic with that plan if it IS THE PLAN and that is the Bienemy problem.

I call it the Bienemy problem because EB has quickly turned Washington's offense around, and he's worked what can only be described as Voodoo magic on a 5th round QB. There is a lot of sentiment building that you don't want to break up this particular band when it has been successful beyond anyone's expectations.

On the other hand, it seems very unlikely that any future star GM is going to want to take a job with strings attached. I don't see any scenario where a new GM takes a job where he doesn't have absolute full control and decision-making authority. I don't think you can make it a stipulation of hire that they take on Eric Bienemy as the OC.

But a theoretical Bill Belichick hire could be quite different. He's done in New England. They'll let him go at season's end and I'm not even sure it will require compensation to take him. A lot of the bloom is off the rose when it comes to Belichick's reputation and aura. There are a ton of NFL people who now believe it was Tom Brady, and maybe only Tom Brady, that made Belichick a future HOF coach. So Belichick won't want to quit now. He wants to prove the doubters and critics wrong with one last stint.

As stints go, Washington's doesn't look bad. He's seen Sam Howell and what the young QB can do up close and personal this season. He knows the weapons we have on offense. And being a defensive guru, he probably figures he can make hay with Jack Del Rio's stable manure. We have a ton of cap space, a new owner itching to spend, and a full bevy of draft picks.

While a new GM candidate might not even entertain being told who his new OC will be, Belichick might be fine with it. In fact, he might even view it as a great option.

I'm not saying there's any validity behind rumors.
I'm not advocating for it.
I'm just saying I could see the possible rationale for it, especially if Harris really wants to keep Eric Bienemy and Sam Howell together.
A month ago I laughed at the Belichick to DC rumors.
Now, it's more like a nervous smirk.

Could they?
Would they?

 

[Boone]

Btw - another team rumored to be a possible destination?

Dallas.

 

[Chris]

Keim talked a lot about future changes in general and about Bieniemy in particular. One point was that Eric has been given quite a bit of power over things like general scheduling and the like.

Would he be willing to take a step back? What about his options here or elsewhere? Does he really have a serious shot at a HC position elsewhere next season?

 

[Boone]

On your last 2 sentences - are you asking about EB or BB?

 

[Chris]

On your last 2 sentences - are you asking about EB or BB?

EB

 

[Chris]

Bringing in Belichick strikes me as a Snyder move, tbh.

 

[Boone]

I don't know but I don't think he's done anything but elevate his profile so far in DC.

I still say the most likely route to an EB head coaching stint is if Harris brings in one of the KC execs (Borgonzi or Brandt Tilis) and they love the idea.

 

[Boone]

Bringing in Belichick strikes me as a Snyder move, tbh.

Sounds exactly like what Jerry Jones would do too.

 

[Canadian Hog]

If the team was where it was four years ago, swirling in off-field drama, culture issues, and bare of talent across the roster, then I would say that Bill would be a guy you look at to come in and bring some instant credibility here. Rivera, to his credit, has done a nice job in terms of cleaning up the culture himself. The job now is obviously taking that step towards becoming a yearly 11-12 win team that can compete for conference championships, something Rivera is clearly incapable of. Given Belicheck's suspect track record in the draft lately, and his record the last several years without Brady, I am not sure we are taking that elusive jump to the upper echelon of the NFL with him. Instead, it might look similar to what Ron is already giving us. Spare me the dinosaurs at this point.

 

[Mojo.Rising]

Whatever EB is doing is working, putting up points despite piss poor O line. They can’t derail Sam’s development by bringing in someone with another offensive scheme so I’m on board with EB as head coach.

If there’s anything that needs changing it’s that 4-2-5 defensive scheme so del Rio and Rivera need to go.

 

[Boone]

I get your sentiments Mojo but that does represent a significant challenge. You have to hire a GM. Do we really want another situation where a novice owner names a head coach and goes out to find a GM willing to live with that?

I think it gets very complicated very quickly.

 

[Mojo.Rising]

I get your sentiments Mojo but that does represent a significant challenge. You have to hire a GM. Do we really want another situation where a novice owner names a head coach and goes out to find a GM willing to live with that?

I think it gets very complicated very quickly.

Definitely a GM, we do have that chance by years end it’s a new owner hopefully it’ll attract the good ones or the up and coming.

 

[Canadian Hog]

The other thing I wanted to mention in regards to this potential move is we as fans have prayed for 24 long years to have the previous owner removed. If Harris is truly in tune with the hell we have lived through, he ought to know that swinging for a guy like Belichick is essentially taking a page out of Satan's book. Does he really want the fanbase to start questioning if we have a new version of the previous owner with his first major move, or does he want to be everything he wasn't?

 

[Boone]

I don’t think Harris is the kind of guy who makes decisions based on polls or fan opinion. He just dumped Chase Young and Montez Sweat.

If he thinks Bill Belichick gives us the best chance to turn the franchise around, I have no doubt he would do it and ignore the fan outcry.

I don’t think he’ll come to that conclusion though because Belichick currently looks to be on the same level as Ron Rivera in terms of ability to produce wins, it might cost us assets to get BB, and you have to wonder how much longer he can even do it.

 

[Om]

I don't see it happening, honestly--for all the reasons you all have already laid out--but I've been around too long at this point to rule anything out. That said, if Harris has entertained the notion of handing the keys to Belichick, he's certainly going to hear the gnashing of teeth from the fans, and the local press, between now and the time he'd actually have to move on it.

 

[Boone]

There’s also the fact that the last time PFT started hinting about this being the plan, the team immediately denied it. Now maybe they were denying doing it in season, but it was a pretty quick and vehement denial.

 

[Neophyte]

I don't see it happening either, for a lot of reasons, but just to play a bit of the devil's advocate...

The NFL is nothing if not a QB-centric league and it has been since most of us were kids. There is a reason there is only one guy in the HOF who has won multiple Championships with multiple QBs. It's hard and nearly every great coach has had a great QB.

Honestly, kinda tough to hold not being able to replace Brady against Bill and I'm not going to say Bill was only great because he had Brady either. Let's face it, Washington is a 30-year case study of how hard it is to find "The Guy" to run the offense.

So with that said, if you are Harris and you believe the team has its QB for the next decade in Sam Howell (no, I'm not saying Howell is Brady) and now the rest of the team is the problem, then maybe you are looking at perhaps the greatest coach to ever pull on the hoodie.

Let me ask you this, if we go back to May and swap coaching staffs with NE do you believe this team is 4-6 today? If we swapped Mac Jones and Sam Howell, is NE 2-8?

My issue with bringing Bill to Washington has less to do with Bill the Coach and more to do with Bill the GM, which should sound kind of familiar.

Bill the GM didn't have a succession plan for Tom Brady and Bill the Coach is now paying the price for that.

 

[@DCGoldPants]

don't see ownership trying to build something new and sustaining, going for a guy who would want to basically be in charge of everything that a GM and Coach would handle.

If you swapped staffs, I think they'd have another win or two here and that Ron/JDR are that bad at coaching in 2023. But that doesn't mean you take him next year. Hard pass.

 

[Chris]

Bill Belichick has a win percentage of 45% (27 wins, 33 losses) since Tom Brady left.

Ron Rivera in Washington has a win percentage of 44% (26 wins, 33 losses, 1 tie)

Bill Belichick’s NE HC coaching tree (Josh McDaniels, Joe Judge, Matt Patricia, Romeo Crennel, Brian Flores, Bill O’Brien) has produced a win percentage of 40% (140 wins, 204 losses, 1 tie)

Tell me again how it’s not about Tom Brady. The only thing more concerning about his coaching without Brady and his inability to surround himself with or develop coaches that can succeed beyond their time with him is his GM results.

Thanks but no thanks.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Belichick was one of the best coaches of all time. People that played for him talked about his knowledge of opposing teams give them such an advantage. Yes, he found some creative ways to get that knowledge, but he was able to apply it an get his players to use it to their advantage. The guy was a legend and did something I thought no one could do in the salary cap era, which was create a dynasty. In fact, the two super bowl runs he had (3 in 4 years and then 3 in 5 years), were with almost completely different teams. Only Tom Brady has more than 3 rings with the Patriots. I don't think most people realize that. Bill had a method to his madness and it was one of the most successful runs in NFL history.

There is a lot of past tense in the praise, because I think his best days are behind him. I think he should retire. His pride probably won't let him though. But if he does go somewhere, he should be going somewhere that is pretty well established and just needs someone to put in a system to make them successful, maybe trim a little of the fat. He's going to be linked to every potential coaching opening. I heard today people on national radio discussing him going to the Chargers. That is the type of situation I could see him thriving in at this point in his career. I don't want him in Washington. Not now. 10 years ago, sure. But not now. This team needs a coach with new ideas and who will inject some excitement into the fan base. Someone with newer ideas on how to win in today's NFL. Yeah, they may fail, but I'd rather fail taking a chance on a younger guy than failing going back to the coach who was good well.