End of an Era: Bill Belichick and Patriots to part ways
- Thread starter RedOctober3829
- Start date
I think this is a mistake, and I'm really sad that BB isn't going to get the alltime record as a Patriot. I never thought I'd be more bummed about BB leaving than Brady, but maybe it's because he's the last one to go.
Damn.
Damn.
I wonder how much age factored into the decision.
It is hard to see Bill coaching more than a couple more years.
It is hard to see Bill coaching more than a couple more years.
I have a weird feeling everyone will be excited about the net additions to the team this offseason only to have the team really stink again. As @jsinger121 said I think it will be a step back to get on with moving several steps forward in the coming years.
Lots of decisions to be made.
Lots of decisions to be made.
Win one more to silence the idiots
the best there ever was by a long distance. Bill put up with more shit than any great coach ever did.
SO grateful from this Pats fan who endured the misery of the late 60’s onward and all the near great teams of the 70’s.
the best there ever was by a long distance. Bill put up with more shit than any great coach ever did.
SO grateful from this Pats fan who endured the misery of the late 60’s onward and all the near great teams of the 70’s.
I was listening to some discussion last evening that Nick Saban has been worth more than 1 billion dollars to Alabama (enrollment increased over 60% during his tenure).
I have to think Belichick has been worth at least that to the Patriots.
I have to think Belichick has been worth at least that to the Patriots.
The greatest of all time.
Amazing how much he has taught us all as fans, while saying relatively little words.
The man personally improved a million lives simply by doing his job better than anyone else. What a honor. And what an privledge for us.
I was a freshman in HS when they won it all in 2001. My entire adulthood has been immensely changed because of BB. So many core memories.
Amazing how much he has taught us all as fans, while saying relatively little words.
The man personally improved a million lives simply by doing his job better than anyone else. What a honor. And what an privledge for us.
I was a freshman in HS when they won it all in 2001. My entire adulthood has been immensely changed because of BB. So many core memories.
Last edited:
There is not only no reason to, there is no way to. They are firing Belichick but they don't want to call it that. So they have to do this "agreed to part ways" thing and then try to make it look like they are doing a favor by not holding him hostage when they don't want him.
Let's all just stipulate that the Krafts did not stick the landing with the two GOATs. For all the good things they did to keep these guys together for 20 years, the end was pretty messy. (Could have been worse, but there are many scenarios where it could have been much, much better.) They also had two assets for which they received no compensation, which would have buffered things a bit. It's now on them to put things back together and bring the team back to SB contention.
Boston's completely unmatched 20 year run as City of Champions started with BB in Feb, 2002.
Sure, it's 22 years later, and "we" (Pats and Boston fans) have been in "not a bang but a whimper" territory for a bit. But this is the bang that sounds the end of that era. And like OFT and many others here, I'm incredibly sad and disappointed.
Sure, it's 22 years later, and "we" (Pats and Boston fans) have been in "not a bang but a whimper" territory for a bit. But this is the bang that sounds the end of that era. And like OFT and many others here, I'm incredibly sad and disappointed.
This makes me sad. Bill is the GOAT for sure and brought me so much happiness as a fan.
I would have preferred him back with an infusion of new brains to help but if he wasn’t down with that I don’t fault them for moving on. The team was trending in the wrong direction and there is very little offensive talent on the team. And Brady isn’t there to paper over anymore. Bill will be 72 in April how long was he going to stay anyway? Big risk for the krafts though. Plenty of coaches and GMs are absolutely awful so he might get a bad pair.
I would have preferred him back with an infusion of new brains to help but if he wasn’t down with that I don’t fault them for moving on. The team was trending in the wrong direction and there is very little offensive talent on the team. And Brady isn’t there to paper over anymore. Bill will be 72 in April how long was he going to stay anyway? Big risk for the krafts though. Plenty of coaches and GMs are absolutely awful so he might get a bad pair.
To be honest Bill's individual decision-making and knowledge of the rules made some moments interesting, but watching the stale offensive football the last number of years while other up-and-coming organizations are more efficient did not make gamedays that interesting for me.
Bill is so important to the franchise's history and I've defended him over time amongst other fanbases from all the familiar narratives, that I will root for him to win every game even against the Patriots.
Super bunk.
Riding the QB, Coach, and GM carousel at the same time should be fun. We're just any old team now.
Riding the QB, Coach, and GM carousel at the same time should be fun. We're just any old team now.
Of course Shaughnessy is on channel 7 news stirring up shit. “Bill and Jonathan don’t like each other. Jonathan wasn’t going to let his Dad be bullied by Bill into keeping him”.
Possibly the worst take imaginable. Well done.
Sad to see Bill go, but what a damn run.
I retract. This is a some next level junk right here.
Tough to see it end this way, wish they could have figured out a way to bring in an offensive minded GM and let Bill get the W record in NE. That would certainly have happened before anything else exciting happens for this team and he more than earned it.
Even though it can’t be a considered a surprise, I’m still waking up to this with it not seeming real. Thanks for the amazing run BB.
We're only in the beginning of worst take season. You think they managed it well?
Everything's eventual as the saying goes...Although I've dreaded this day, especially over the last couple of years, this was the most likely outcome in my eyes.
It's going to take some time for me not wonder 'what would Bill do' in every imaginable Patriots football scenario moving forward. Thanks Coach...
It's going to take some time for me not wonder 'what would Bill do' in every imaginable Patriots football scenario moving forward. Thanks Coach...
Stupid Stupid Stupid
Oh well, now I really have no reason to care about the NFL anymore so that is good.
Oh well, now I really have no reason to care about the NFL anymore so that is good.
I'm interested in this view. Questioning and criticizing how the Krafts managed the end of Brady and BB's time here just seems like such an obvious consequence of this to me. It was not the best way to do it.
My reaction is decidedly mixed. On the one hand, we won't get to see Belichick pass that prick Shula, at least not while wearing a Patriots hoodie. On the other hand, we are collectively shoved through the door into the future with a few good candidates to succeed Belichick.
Nothing lasts forever, and I was hoping that this would play out for a few more seasons as Belichick could turn this around. But, he's 71 and most likely didn't want to rebuild and didn't want the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head the last season. He deserves to go out on his own terms. I'm hoping that the reports are true and it was a true mutual parting of the ways.
Like Terry Francona, I will never root against the man wherever he ends up.
Nothing lasts forever, and I was hoping that this would play out for a few more seasons as Belichick could turn this around. But, he's 71 and most likely didn't want to rebuild and didn't want the Sword of Damocles hanging over his head the last season. He deserves to go out on his own terms. I'm hoping that the reports are true and it was a true mutual parting of the ways.
Like Terry Francona, I will never root against the man wherever he ends up.
Was hoping for another year or two. This sucks. Had to happen sometime so best to just rip the band aid off. I was really hoping he would retire a Patriot. Seeing Brady as a Buck was strange but I always sort of imagined it. Seeing Bill in a Charger hoodie? I can’t imagine it. Fucking A.
Somewhere, buried in a game thread, I believe I bet someone $100 this wouldn’t happen, so I’ll get that money to the Jimmy Fund before the weekend.
Somewhere, buried in a game thread, I believe I bet someone $100 this wouldn’t happen, so I’ll get that money to the Jimmy Fund before the weekend.
So the Red Sox kept Cora, and the Patriots got rid of Belichick. This year just keeps getting worse. Rooting for an asteroid next.
It's possible that the next coach will be an update from the current version of Bill, but it's certain the next coach will be a massive downgrade from the version of Bill that we had from 2000 to even 2021.
Yup exactly this! Still hard to believe someone else will be on the sideline that isn’t The Hoodie!
Thanks for everything Bill!
I wonder if any of their wind-up conversations addressed what BB thinks of Vrabel and Mayo.
To paraphrase Brady’s dad, it was always going to end badly. Otherwise it wouldn’t end. At least this is a dignified transition, but yeah…fuckin’ A.
If you can watch Get Up on ESPN. Damien Woody and Teddy B sharing some great stories about BB. It will obviously been rerun throughout the day.
Also, pure conjecture but my guess is that the “high road” included Bill insisting he would not be traded and that he would be released so he would not be losing a valuable pick in Atlanta or LA.
Also, pure conjecture but my guess is that the “high road” included Bill insisting he would not be traded and that he would be released so he would not be losing a valuable pick in Atlanta or LA.
I'm disappointed and I wish they could have worked something out where either BB stays another year with a GM, or BB is allowed to part on his own terms.
But honestly I'm not surprised either. This reeks of Jonathan being involved, honestly.
But honestly I'm not surprised either. This reeks of Jonathan being involved, honestly.
Well, as has been noted here many times, so long as BB was willing to come back to New England and be the coach/GM in accordance with his existing contract, he held all of the cards (assuming the Krafts had decided to move on). The only scenario in which they were getting compensation is if he wanted to leave and they wanted him back, which just does not seem to be the case.
Honestly given the situation the "mutual parting" thing is about as best as we could have hoped for as fans of the Pats and BB. Let's just hope we don't get a series of backchanneled hit pieces in the Globe in the coming days/weeks.
All makes sense. I guess it probably better than Robert is still alive and sentient at this pivotal moment than if Johnny was driving all by himself.
I dont really see this as "ending badly." This is more like death by natural causes of an old person. It just ended.
There is no separating things out that neatly with championships in football. It’s always coaches and players. Always.