Fair or not, the 2021 NFL season could go a long way toward determining how people remember Bill Belichick.
Prior to last season, the “Who’s more responsible for the Patriots dynasty: Belichick or Tom Brady?” debate somewhat quieted, with many (correctly) realizing that both deserve equal credit. Then Brady left town and led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title while Belichick and New England endured a losing season.
So, the NFL’s dumbest and most exhausting debate once again is a staple of morning talk shows.
The conversation also has gaslit fans into believing Belichick’s legacy as a head coach somehow is on the line this season, when it’s not. However, that doesn’t mean nothing is at stake for The Hoodie in his age-69 season.
The “Belichick legacy” thing can be broken up into two categories: reality and fiction.
Let’s go over both.
Fiction
The fiction: That Belichick’s reputation as a head coach is on the line, and that this season could decide the Brady-Belichick debate.
None of that is real. Listen, if Brady wins another Super Bowl this season, or next, and Belichick fails to win another before retiring, then Brady probably will deserve the edge. But we’ll cross that bridge if it ever is built.
Plus, that will say more about Brady and his role in the Patriots dynasty than it will about Belichick’s coaching abilities.
Belichick’s status as the greatest head coach in NFL history is safe, barring a complete meltdown this season and beyond. Honestly, that he got seven wins out of last season’s team should be a feather in his coaching cap (note: not his GM cap, but we’ll get to that in a minute).
If the Patriots are just meh this season, the Asante Samuels of the world will feel emboldened with their takes about Belichick being overrated, or whatever. Don’t listen to them. Belichick probably needs to win another Super Bowl to back off his haters, but the reality is he has nothing else to prove as a head coach.
Reality
The reality: Belichick the general manager, and the quarterback developer, very much is on trial.
His ability to draft underrated talent, develop them into impact players and build a roster with team-friendly deals was unmatched during the 2000s. So, too, was Belichick’s awareness of knowing when to part ways with a player before a point of diminishing returns.
But the 2010s have been a different story. Belichick’s drafting was borderline bad for much of the last 10-ish years, and it played a major role both in the Patriots looking old and slow in Brady’s last year and in the unprecedented spending spree this offseason.
The roster last season flat-out wasn’t good enough, which was of Belichick’s doing. That he thought he could make it work with Cam Newton also raises questions about Belichick’s arrogance as well as his eye for modern quarterback talent.
(His reported Josh Allen comments from last year also don’t help.)
The final chapter of Belichick’s career, beginning with this season, will tell us a lot about whether he can build a championship-caliber roster without Brady, as well as whether he can identify a franchise quarterback when he’s not lucking into the greatest of all time at the end of the draft.
So far, things look good. Mac Jones has a ton of promise, and the Patriots the last few years have taken a major step forward with their drafting and player development. But there still is much work for Belichick to do.
