What a week!
Pete Carroll out as head coach of the Seattle Seahawks.
Nick Saban retired as Alabama head football coach.
Now, Bill Belichick out as Patriots head coach.
The upcoming football season is going to be weird.
I haven’t been paying much attention to THIS season.
Dallas ended up as #2 seed and champion of their division, how did that happen.
And poor Miami is going to be HATING life in Kansas City. Temperature will be around zero at kickoff and -5 by the end of the game. And Miami’s performance in previous ice bowls has been disastrous.
Unlike Pete Carroll, who’s apparently being relegated into a FO role and Nick Saban, who’s retiring, Mr. Belichick actually has a decent chance of coaching somewhere next year - unless he desires a year or two off.
Best bets for a landing spot right now look to be Atlanta Falcons and the LA Chargers. Much depends on whether Jim Harbaugh decides to leave Ann Arbor.
My educated guess would be that Bill goes to a team with a good QB. That would most likely be the Chargers. By all accounts the Chargers owner is cheap, so if he can’t go there, Washington. They have the 2nd overall pick.
Chargers are currently over the cap and aren’t that good overall (how else do you finish 5-12). It’s going to be absolutely painful for the next year or two getting that straightened out.
Herbert is good, but he’s going to essentially be a one-man band.
It’s going to take a minimum of 3 seasons no matter where he goes. You can flip a team in 3 seasons. It’s better to have a good QB if and when you do.
Chargers already have the QB.
Washington can draft the QB.
Tennessee has a promising QB in Will Levis.
If he goes to any other team, he’s just concerned about the wins.
Mayfield is about to become a free agent, Denver wants to be rid of Russell Wilson (I think they are high, but that is another story altogether), and Chicago has a dilemma on their hands: Trade the number one draft pick, or trade Justin Fields.
And to add to the options, does Joe Flacco really want to go back to the couch after the year he just had for Cleveland, or if the situation is right, go for another ring with yet another team?
Atlanta for example could sign Belichick, trade for either the number one pick or Fields from Chicago or acquire Wilson or Mayfield somehow. And if Atlanta gets a QB, they could be a winner immediately IMHO. No 3-year window needed.
Would you rather roll the dice with Atlanta, or put up with the Spanos family while trying to rebuild the Chargers?
Yeah, I guess when you get into detail, there are other options. But Atlanta doesn’t have a realistic option to move up in the draft. They’re too far out. They are picking 8. They can’t compete. What are they going to offer? Carolina moved up last year, gave their best player away, and now look at them.
Carolina is a terrible team overall, with or without DJ Moore.
Atlanta has all the pieces needed to compete except for a QB. Plus they don’t have to get the top pick, they can trade for Fields instead. It’s actually all up to Chicago and what they wish to do. Or they could somehow pry Russell Wilson from Denver (lot easier to do IMHO), or make a run at Baker Mayfield or see if Joe Flacco wants to make another run at a Super Bowl as a last gasp option. There is also Kirk Cousins…lots of options IMHO.
The Chargers OTOH, now need to be rebuilt. They are over the cap and will need to rid themselves of high-priced talents. Would you rather take the job in Atlanta which only needs a QB to win (with lots of enticing options), or win 2 games a year for the next two years with the Chargers while needing to develop almost the whole rest of the team?
If you’re a 70-year-old coach, which would you rather do?
Bill has to coach 3 more years to beat the record. Looking into it, you’re right, the Chargers have cap issues. Washington or Tennessee would be better choices.
Looks like he’ll sit out the year and wait for the Cowboys job that opens up the following year. If nothing else, they Cowboys are good for getting him regular season wins.
I agree. But Jerry might be desperate enough at his advanced age. I know at one point Belichick expressed interest in coaching the Cowboys. But Jerry never called him. Then he went to the Patriots.