New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick did the unthinkable when addressing the media at his end-of-season press conference on Monday morning.
He admitted he’d be willing to give up his general manager role to stay on as the Patriots’ coach. It’s a stunning possibility few expected to even be on the table considering how Belichick is used to having complete autonomy within the organization.
Yes, there’s some collaboration likely involved, but the buck has always stopped with Belichick. And now, he’s suddenly willing to give up that power and shift his focus to coaching.
“Look, I’m for whatever we decide collectively as an organization is the best thing to help our football team,” said Belichick, via NESN’s Zack Cox. “I have multiple roles in that, and I rely on a lot of people to help me in those responsibilities. Somebody’s got to have the final say. I have it. I rely on a lot of other people to help. Whatever that process is, I’m only part of it.”
The Patriots have whiffed on multiple draft picks and free agent signings in recent years. An argument could be made that too much of the attention has been placed on the defensive side of the ball with the offense typically consisting of patchwork, bargain bin pieces and late-round draft picks.
New England could do well with someone new running the front office with a fresh perspective, while Belichick keeps his focus on things that happen on the field. With that said, whoever the Patriots hire would need to be someone with a strong enough personality to potentially step on Belichick’s toes to make the right decisions.
Who would that be, and would owner Robert Kraft even be willing to go down that path with Belichick? It’s an even tougher decision now than it was before Sunday’s season finale against the New York Jets.
Your move, Kraft.
