Over the past two decades, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick built the most successful player-coach partnership in NFL history, establishing the core of the Patriots’ championship culture.
Following Brady’s announcement on Tuesday that he would leave New England in free agency, Belichick is left with replacing the most successful quarterback professional football has seen while also retooling a roster that already had several needs.
“I don’t know what my football future holds, but it is time for me to open a new stage for my life and my career,” Brady said on Instagram.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The team he leaves behind must plot a new course into an unknown future, too. It has been pretty much two decades since that was true.
The Patriots dominated the American Football Conference East during Brady’s tenure, winning the division 17 times, including a record 11 straight seasons, to go along with their six Lombardi Trophies.
However, Brady was frustrated throughout last season as he tried to lead an offense that lacked consistency and a deep threat at receiver. He also struggled to get dependable production from the tight end position following the retirement of Rob Gronkowski.
“Nothing about the end of Tom’s Patriots career changes how unfathomably spectacular it was,” Belichick said in a statement on Tuesday. “With his relentless competitiveness and longevity, he earned everyone’s adoration and will be celebrated forever. It has been a privilege to coach Tom Brady for 20 years.”
What is next for Belichick as he prepares for the official start of free agency on Wednesday with last year’s fourth-round pick Jarrett Stidham as his starting quarterback? That is hardly an ideal scenario.
Stidham impressed the coaching staff during the pre-season, but played only one series and threw just four passes during the regular season.
Brady was in his second season when he took over as starter in 2001 after Drew Bledsoe was injured. They won the Super Bowl that season.
The chances of the Patriots catching lightning in a bottle twice seem unlikely.
Stidham is one of several players New England have brought in as possible Brady successors. The list also has included Jacoby Brissett, now with the Colts, and 49ers starter Jimmy Garoppolo.
Drafted in 2014, Garoppolo seemed like Brady’s heir apparent until he was abruptly dealt to San Francisco in October 2017 for only a second-round draft pick. His departure came just a month after Brissett was traded.
At the time, Belichick seemed to lament making the deal, saying that he felt having Brady, Garoppolo and Brissett on the roster gave them “the best quarterback situation in the league.”
Three years later, Brissett is one of a handful of available veterans Belichick could target as Brady’s replacement.
Indianapolis are adding free agent Philip Rivers. That increases the likelihood of the Colts dealing Brissett, who is about to enter the final season of the two-year deal he signed last year.
Another option is Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton, who earlier in his nine NFL seasons led the Bengals to the playoffs five times. The Bengals hold the top pick in the draft and would almost certainly use it on Louisiana State University’s Joe Burrow.
There are also two former Super Bowl Most Valuable Players (MVPs) who could be available.
Nick Foles had a forgettable first season in Jacksonville that included him getting benched late in the year for rookie Gardner Minshew. However, Foles — who led the Eagles to the title in 2017, beating Brady and the Patriots in the Super Bowl — would be very costly under his four-year, US$88 million deal.
Joe Flacco, 2013 Super Bowl MVP with Baltimore, was 2-6 for the Broncos last season before sustaining a neck injury. The Broncos are going with Drew Lock, meaning Flacco could welcome the chance for a fresh start.
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