2020-2021 NFL Coaching Carousel

No more than most, and, sadly, it's not indicative of success or lack thereof as a coach.

 

OK, but this is a board for journalists. We're allowed to discuss other things than his ability on a sideline.

 

And 11-5 with Brady injured.

 

The 2008 Pats were the 2007 Pats minus Brady. That was a super loaded team, as witnessed by the fact they went 11-5 with Matt Cassel (not incidentally making Cassel a rich man).

 

I've seen people try to use this season as evidence that it was all Brady and Belichick isn't that great. Bullshit. The secret sauce was the combination. Also, that roster was already in decline, then they let Brady go and had eight guys opt out.

 

I had totally forgotten the post-Brady exodus.
Gonna be really curious to see how many opt-outs from 2020 are still in the league a year from now. If they're not cut out of spite, they'll be shunned by their teammates.

 

Not necessarily. The opt-out Pats have been in pretty constant communication with their teammates who went through the season and there's been no hint of estrangement. Many opt-outs had damn good reasons, like themselves or family members with pre-existing conditions that made them high risk. Hightower, probably the best of the Pats' opt-outs had a wife and infant with possible risk factors. Any teammate who'd resent that is a shit who could be done without if I'm him.

 

The 2020 Pats were not simply the 2009 Pats minus Brady.

 

He would have liked it a lot more had the team not chosen Daunte Culpepper over Drew Brees.

Doctors gave Brees a 20% chance of fully recovering from his injury, Culpepper an 80% chance of recovering from his.

 

How do you hire a guy like that and not, as Parcells said, let him buy the groceries?

 

Heh. He listened to science. The doctors.

 

Per Belichick: As Giants special teams coach he worked out former Lions PK Eddie Murray at Tulane, prior to the 1980 draft. It was unusual, first day nothing but speed, strength and agility drills, like for a position player. Second day kicking, but anyway. The second night he took Murray and his wife to dinner at Court of the Two Sisters in the French Quarter. Eventually, the Giants did not draft him. Fast-forward to 2017 and former Cowboy Murray is at Super Bowl LI, on the sidelines with his wife and daughter, who want to meet Belichick. The Patriots enter the field, and Murray makes a point to greet Belichick. They have a quick embrace, and Belichick says, "Remember when I took you and your wife to dinner at the Court of Two Sisters?" Murray was so thunderstruck that Belichick remembered the restaurant 37 years later, he forgot to introduce his wife and daughter.