Mike Giardi on Bill Belichick’s press conference: “The battle lines have been drawn”

During this morning's Toucher & Hardy, Fred Toucher, Rob "Hardy" Poole, and Boston Sports Journal's Mike Giardi discussed their takeaways from yesterday's Bill Belichick's end-of-season press conference. Fred suggested that Belichick's opening remarks were strategically planned to put pressure on Kraft and position himself as a willing and able employee. Mike Giardi agreed, emphasizing that Belichick drew clear battle lines in negotiations.

Hardy added that Belichick's statements might also serve as a decent opening statement to prospective employers and other owners. The conversation delved into concerns about the lack of a succession plan and potential challenges in attracting a good GM candidate.

The guys also discussed whether it was directed towards potential employers. Giardi believed it was, while Fred questioned the intelligence of other NFL owners, stating that they should do background work on Belichick and consider his 24 years of evidence. Additionally, Fred highlighted the unlikelihood of Belichick changing his ways at 71-72 years old and the challenges of attracting a quality GM candidate with a coach giving up control.

Nick Gemelli is a Producer on Toucher & Hardy and contributor for 985thesportshub.com. Follow Nick at @NickGemelli on Twitter.

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Whether or not Patriots head coach Bill Belichick returns for a 25th season on the New England sidelines is currently unknown.

That's to be decided at some point following additional meetings between Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft. But with no concrete timeline on a decision to be made by Kraft — though many insiders predict that he would like to make a decision sooner rather than later — it's a situation that has left Belichick to operate as if everything's normal and shift his focus to improving the team for 2024 and beyond.

That's extended beyond the on-field product, too, with a new rumor linking the Patriots back to a longtime coach who's truly never too far from Foxborough and is once again looking for work for next season.

It's about as predictable a rumor as this offseason could've drawn up, too, with a new report from The Athletic's Jeff Howe noting that Josh McDaniels could return to the Patriots' coaching staff if Belichick remains the team's head coach for 2024.

Back on the hunt for NFL work, the 47-year-old is looking for work after a disastrous run in Las Vegas, with a 9-16 run as the head coach of the Raiders in less than two years on the job, and with McDaniels (along with general manager Dave Ziegler) fired on Halloween after a 3-5 start to the 2023 season.

But despite his latest struggles, "McDaniels and Belichick have remained close, and McDaniels has long been one of Kraft's favorite members of the organization," per Howe's report.

McDaniels was also spotted at Gillette Stadium for New England's regular season finale this past Sunday in what was his first 'public' appearance since he was fired by the Raiders.

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Obviously the gigantic caveat to this report is the 'if' as it relates to Belichick returning to the Patriots.

But if you're looking at this from a pro-Belichick standpoint as it relates to his plan on selling Kraft of brighter days ahead, it's worth noting that 2021 was the last time things looked 'normal' for this club on the offensive side of the ball, and that came with McDaniels running the offense.

There's also a natural comfort that comes with McDaniels from a Kraft point of view in the sense that McDaniels has had two separate runs with the Patriots, and that New England's offense has seemingly always looked capable at the very least with McDaniels at the helm as the team's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. That has not been the case since his departure.

First with the Patriots from 2001 through 2008 first as an assistant and ultimately working his way up to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the final three years of his original tenure with the organization, McDaniels departed the Patriots for what wos a three-year excursion to Denver and St. Louis as a head coach with the Broncos and offensive coordinator with St. Louis.

McDaniels would then return to the Pats as their offensive coordinator from 2012 through 2021, and helped lead the club to another three Super Bowl championships as Tom Brady’s right-hand man.

McDaniels is also among those who have been on Belichick’s staff for all six of the Super Bowls that Belichick has won with the Patriots.

McDaniels also got more out of 2021 first-round pick Mac Jones than the tandem of Matt Patricia and Joe Judge in 2022 and Bill O'Brien in 2023 ever did.

Giving the keys to the rookie, Jones and the Patriots averaged 27.2 points per game in 2021 in the McDaniels offense, which ranked sixth in the NFL. The Patriots also ranked 15th in offensive yards per game (353.4 yards per game) during the 2021 season.

Jones, meanwhile, put together a season that included 3,801 passing yards (223.6 per game) with 22 touchdowns and a 67.6 completion percentage. Those are all career-highs for Jones through the first three years of his NFL career, and same for his 92.5 QB rating during the 2021 season.

If Kraft still believes in Jones and believes that it's been coaching more than anything else, bringing McDaniels back would be a step in the right direction on that front.

And if Kraft seems to think like Belichick and that Jones is not the guy for this franchise moving forward, that 2021 success with McDaniels leading a rookie quarterback is a promising sign for a Patriots club that will seemingly have a legitimate chance at drafting USC's Caleb Williams or North Carolina's Drake Maye with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

According to Howe, Belichick will need to present Kraft with a detailed plan for the future, and while that plan will certainly have to include more than McDaniels, it's no shock that he's part of that pitch.

Especially with the club looking to rediscover the organizational synergy that made them the envy of the league for almost two decades.