It ‘s difficult to imagine a six-time Super Bowl champion – and arguably the greatest coach in NFL history – leaving the team he has enjoyed dynastic reign with for the past two decades, to take over a team in the midst of a rebuild. However, Bill Belichick’s history with the New York Giants is complicated.
Bill Belichick has gone a combined 233-79 since taking over as the head coach of the New England Patriots in 2000. During that time, his teams have made the playoffs in all but three seasons, and have been in the Super Bowl an incredible nine times, taking home the Lombardi trophy on six of those occasions. In addition to holding the title of head coach, Belichick has been given the authority over most football decisions in New England, effectively making him the General Manager.
Given the amount of success that Belichick has garnered during his time in New England, what would could possess him to consider leaving? A large part of his success with the Patriots has been a result of having arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history, Tom Brady, starting for him since 2001. In recent years – despite all of their successes – there have been rumblings of a power struggle between Belichick and Brady brewing in New England.
Tom Brady has teased retirement over the past couple of seasons and recently put his home in New England up for sale (although he is rumored to have bought a new home in Greenwich, CT, which is still in New England). He has also been non-committal about his intent to resign with New England when he becomes a free agent in the offseason. One if the biggest issues has been the feud over his personal trainer and good friend Alex Guerrero being denied access to team facilities, because Belichick was reportedly concerned about the level of influence he had over Brady and other Patriots players.
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In addition, there have been reports that Belichick was not happy with Patriots owner Robert Kraft essentially forcing him to trade away back up quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in 2017, as Belichick saw him as the future quarterback of the Patriots and favored him over an aging Brady. These reports undoubtedly did not sit well with the ageless superstar Brady.
In 2018, Patriots offensive coordinator, Josh McDaniels, opted to accept the head coaching position of the Indianapolis Colts, only to do an about face and sign a five year contract to stay with the Patriots, where he would be paid $4 million per season in the later part of the deal. The deal made McDaniels the highest paid assistant coach in the NFL, paying him wages consistent with head coaches around the league and fueling speculation that New England intended on making him the successor to Belichick.
The level of success that both Belichick and Brady have enjoyed together over nearly 20 years together makes them intrinsically connected. Sports bars are filled with discussions over who is more responsible for the Patriots success, their legendary head coach or their GOAT quarterback. As a result, one has to wonder if the idea of going their separate ways to prove that they are the primary reason behind the success of the franchise may eventually be the causation for their divorce.
Brady’s cryptic replies about his future with the organization, his recent real estate dealings and the past drama between he and his head coach, cause one to wonder if he is setting himself up to make a potential power play that forces owner Robert Kraft to decide between he and Belichick.
If this is in fact Brady’s intent, it isn’t difficult to see a path where Bill Belichick reunites with a franchise he is intimately familiar with, the New York Giants. Belichick has held a long standing relationship with the Mara family that owns the Giants and has always spoken affectionately about his time with the Giants.
Given the ineptitude of the Big Blue since they last won a Super Bowl in 2011 – that has witnessed them make the playoffs just once in eight years and replace their general manager and two head coaches – the once proud franchise would greatly benefit from the stability of a legend like Belichick.
If available, it isn’t difficult to imagine the Giants offering Belichick a dual role as General Manager and Head Coach of the franchise, allowing him unilateral decision making powers for the organization. While he currently already has a great deal of power in the decision making process with the Pats, the Garoppolo trade proves that he relinquishes some of that decision making power to the likes of Kraft and Brady. In New York, he could wield absolute power over a franchise that has some exciting young core pieces, including a generational talent at running back in Saquon Barkley and what appears to be a promising franchise quarterback in Daniel Jones.
Another added benefit of moving on from the Patriots would be the idea of Belichick selecting his successor. It appears as though Josh McDaniels has been anointed as his successor in New England, but one has to wonder if the legend has another assistant in mind that he would prefer as his heir apparent. That assistant may very well be his son Steve Belichick, who is credited with the renaissance that the Patriots defense has experienced this year.
Steve Belichick is only 32-years-old, but has had the benefit of growing up in the system of his genius father. He began his coaching career with the Patriots in 2012 as a defensive assistant before being promoted to safeties coach in 2016. As of this year, he has reportedly began defensive play calling for the defending Super Bowl champs a few weeks into this season. The results have been incredible, as the Patriots defense is the top ranked in the league and is drawing comparisons to legendary defenses like the 2000 Baltimore Ravens and 1985 Chicago Bears.
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If the reports of the power struggle between Bill Belichick and Tom Brady do result in a divorce, it is entirely plausible that Belichick decides to leave the Patriots, Brady signs an extension to stay and McDaniels takes over as the successor. If that is the case, Belichick has indicated that he would like to continue coaching for at least a few more years, he could ultimately decide to reunite with the Maras and the Giants organization taking over as the de facto leader of the organization. If he does, it is distinctly possible that he brings his son Steve along with him, and grooms him as his successor and eventually relinquishes coaching duties to focus solely on the General Manager role. I’m certainly connecting a lot of shaky dots here, but in theory these things could potentially happen easily.
In an ideal world, the Patriots will do everything to keep their legendary Head Coach and quarterback in the fold for as long as they can. However, the old adage that all good things must come to an end rings true. If that happens to be the case following what looks to be another potential Super Bowl run for New England, the Giants must do everything in the power to convince Bill Belichick to come back to the franchise he so affectionately speaks about.
Giants fans would gladly welcome in the greatest coach of all time to usher in a new era, similar to those experienced the past two decades in New England.