Mazz: Are Bill Belichick and the Dallas Cowboys about to join forces?
Bill Belichick and the Dallas Cowboys. The door is not simply ajar. It has been blown off the hinges.
We all want this, of course, so let’s do what football fans and followers do at the most critical times. Let’s join hands and kneel – as if we’re to attempt a game-winning field goal – and let us pray. Let us pray for Belichick and Jerry Jones, for Bill in a Dallas hoodie, for Cowboys reporters asking questions in a protracted drawl and for Belichick to reply with a terse eastern grunt. Let us pray for the soul who asks Belichick whether Micah Parsons reminds him of Lawrence Taylor and wonders whether Belichick consulted Bill Parcells. But let us pray, mostly, for the biggest coaching name in football to land in the Big D, like Godzilla planting his foot at the entrance to Grand Central Station.
As we all know, the Dallas Cowboys went belly up again on Sunday, getting pummeled by the upstart Green Bay Packers in a 48-32 defeat that wasn’t remotely that close. Green Bay led by scores of 27-0 late in the first half and 48-16 with six minutes to play. Packers quarterback Jordan Love finished with a passer rating of 157.2 and Green Bay averaged 7.7 yards per play. The Packers returned an interception for a touchdown. Bloated Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy had the look of a man who just ate a bad cheeseburger while quarterback Dak (rhymes with Mac) Prescott’s head was spinning as if he we possessed, all while megalomaniacal owner Jones was – incredibly and perhaps unprecedently – at a loss to explain it all.
“I certainly in no way spent any time over the last three hours asking how and why,” Jones told reporters following his team’s embarrassing defeat. “What I’m zeroed in on is the fact that I thought we were in position — everyone in this room thought we were in a position — to advance this thing in the playoffs and maybe [progress] as far as our dreams might take us. We didn’t do it. … This is one of my [biggest] surprises since I’ve been involved in sport, period.
“On a personal basis, I’m floored,” Jones added. “Not that there’s any world’s smallest violin for me being floored. I get that. I understand that. I know where the responsibility starts and ends. I’ve got that real clear.”
Said quarterback Prescott when asked about the possibility that head coach McCarthy would now be fired:“I don’t know how there can be [question concerning McCarthy], but I understand the business,” Prescott said. “In that case, it should be about me as well. Honestly. I mean, that guy – I’ve had the season that I’ve had because of him. This team’s had the success that they’ve had because of him. I understand it’s about winning the Super Bowl. That’s the standard of the league and damn sure the standard of this place. So I get it. But add me to the list in that case.”
Oh, we will.
So who can fix it?
Well, how about Bill?
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 17: Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft talk before their game at Gillette Stadium on October 17, 2021 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Getty Images)
Seriously, folks. Has there ever been a match more perfectly made in pigskin heaven? The Cowboys have talent. The Cowboys need a Super Bowl. The Cowboys have everything they need to win save for one very obvious thing – they don’t know how – and Belichick has won more than most every coach in the history of the sport. He has certainly won more Super Bowls. The Cowboys are now 4-13 in their last 17 postseason games dating back to 1996. Tom Brady has more postseason victories as a member of the Buccaneers (five) than Dallas does as a franchise since Jan. 1, 1997.
And if you don’t agree with any of that, you must believe this: you can be damn sure that a Belichick team would not have allowed 48 points, at home, in a playoff game with the kind of talent Dallas possesses after the Cowboys went 8-0 with a +172 point differential at home during the regular season. The Patriots (who were 38-3 losers in Dallas) weren’t the only ones who got their asses kicked in Texas this year.
Feb 2, 2020; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Dallas Cowboys former running back Emmitt Smith (left) embraces New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick before Super Bowl LIV between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Now, where will Belichick end up? Only heaven knows. But Dallas now seems far more likely to be on the list of options. And while there is never any telling what Jones will do, some obvious truths exist. Jones and Patriots owner Robert Kraft are rivals. Jones needs a Super Bowl and Belichick suddenly has something to prove. Jerod Mayo will coach the Patriots next season as the Patriots begin a long, potentially slow rebuild, and the people of Dallas are stuck on a refrain that is growing all too old and familiar.
In Dallas, after all, it’s Super Bowl or bust.
Mazz: The case for firing Bill Belichick
The Patriots have been disintegrating for some time now
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 31: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots arrives prior to a game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on December 31, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images)
Oh, the 2023 Patriots may very well be the victims of a perfect storm, which is say they have dealt with a combination of injuries and scheduling challenges, among other things. But mismanagement has also been a major factor. The Patriots have been constructed poorly, most notably through the draft, especially on offense. Even the staunchest Belichick loyalists often suggest that keeping him as a coach almost certainly requires to firing him as both general manager and head of football operations. But given Belichick’s controlling nature, massive ego and sizable shadow, this is a solution akin to splitting the proverbial baby. It simply cannot be done.
This year, while national voices expressed shock at the suggestion of Belichick’s dismissal, the truth is that the Patriots have been, at best, spinning their wheels since Tom Brady departed. New England is 13-24 in its last 37 games. The Patriots have one player getting serious Pro Bowl consideration this year and he is their punter, Bryce Barringer. On either side of the ball, they have very few core players considered to be current or future cornerstones. Belichick hasn’t been just the coach of the Patriots during this time. He has been the architect.
Belichick’s poor handling of the quarterback situation
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – DECEMBER 18: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots watches his players, including quarterback Mac Jones #10, warm up before a game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on December 18, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Raiders defeated the Patriots 30-24. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Did Belichick want Mac Jones? Did he not? Certainly, we can debate. But this much is indisputable: Jones had a relatively promising start to his career, going 10-7 during a rookie season that landed the Patriots in the playoffs. What Belichick and the Patriots have done to him since has been nothing short of negligent, starting with the incomprehensible appointment of Belichick loyalists Matt Patricia and Joe Judge as Jones’ primary offensive coaches in 2022. Offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien was brought on boards in hopes of rectifying that problem in 2023, but Belichick left Jones without an offensive line or requisite talent at the skill positions.
None of that is meant to exempt Jones. who has been exposed by the team’s better play under backup Bailey Zappe. But it’s not like Zappe has been stellar, either. Since Tom Brady departed, the Patriots rank 29th in the NFL in passing touchdowns, ahead of only the New York Jets, New York Giants and Carolina Panthers. At the same time, Patriots passers have thrown the fifth-most interceptions. From Cam Newton to Jones to Bailey, Belichick has destroyed the offense in what is an offensive era, suggesting his philosophies are both ineffective outdated. In the end, this might be the single biggest argument against him.
The deterioration of the coaching staff
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – DECEMBER 17: New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick looks on from the sideline during the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium on December 17, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
If the decision to hire Patricia and Judge highlighted anything in 2022, it was this: Belichick’s unwillingness to ever extend beyond his circle or trust. Even when the Patriots had Brady, Belichick rarely hired anyone from the outside who might challenge his methods or his manner. He usually hired young, controllable, hand-picked and impressionable people from within. And it worked. Even O’Brien, who has had a relatively accomplished career as a head coach and assistant, felt like a way to appease Belichick’s insecurities as much as it did a way to properly support Jones.
The point? The overall coaching on the team has worsened, too. (It hasn’t been just the talent.) Over the last four years, the Patriots have committed too many foolish penalties, too many turnovers, too many mistakes in general. Even Belichick’s defense – his hallmark – has struggled against good competition. Gating back to 2021, the Patriots are just 2-19 against teams quarterbacked by Brady, Josh Allen, Tua Tagovailoa, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Burrow, Dak Prescott, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and Kirk Cousins. Both wins came against Buffalo – one this season and one in 2020, when the Pats won with just three pass attempts in a windstorm.
The mess on the offensive line
DENVER, COLORADO – DECEMBER 24: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots watches from the sidelines during the 2nd quarter of the game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High on December 24, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
So, how is this Belichick’s fault? Because no area on the field better highlights the organizational ineptitude. For starters, nothing – and we mean nothing – can undermine a team line bad offensive line play because it undermines everything on that side of the ball. The Patriots haven’t been able to pass or run – and, therefore, score – because, quite simply, they can’t block. The Patriots rank 29th in passer rating and 25th in passing yards. They rank 25th in rushing yards and 25th in yards per rush. And the offensive line coach is former Belichick draft pick Adrian Klemm, brought in more for Belichick’s familiarity with him than with his career accomplishments.
But here’s the worst part: at this time a year ago, most everyone agreed that the Patriots biggest needs entering 2023 were on the offensive line. Got that? EVERYBODY KNEW IT. Belichick nonetheless tried to plug the holes with fringe free agents and later-round draft picks, relying on the chronically unreliable Trent Brown (benched last week) to anchor the group. In this case more than any other – on the coaching staff and the roster – Belichick and the Patriots got exactly what they bargained for: garbage.
Wretched special teams play
ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 31: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots walks off the field after a game against the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium on December 31, 2023 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Rich Barnes/Getty Images)
On the one hand, we all acknowledge that special teams aren’t as important as they used to be. On the other, we criticize Belichick for his teams’ poor special teams play. So how can both things be true? Because, incredibly, Belichick continues to put resources and emphasis on special teams and because the Patriots still stink at them. Think about that. In the past few years, the Patriots have had punts blocked, run into opposing punters, missed field goals and botched return coverages. This year, they rank 31st in punt return average and 32nd in field goal percentage. And this is true despite the fact that, in the last five years, Belichick has drafted two punters (in the fifth and sixth rounds) and two kickers (in the fourth and fifth).
Through much of that time, the special teams coach has remained Cam Achord, to whom Belichick has remained inexplicably loyal. The last two or three seasons, in particular, has seemingly called for a change in special teams coaching. Belichick has refrained. Like the offensive line, the overall handling of the unit – from the coaching on down – reeks of incompetence.
