The New England Patriots are in the midst of one of the worst stretches of play in franchise history. They have been blown out in their last two games, losing 34-0 to the New Orleans Saints in Week 5, which followed up a 38-3 blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4.
Those are two ugly performances and there doesn’t look to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Quarterback Mac Jones was benched in both games as he doesn’t look like the long-term answer for the team under center. There are a lot of issues with the offense, but Jones is in the middle of a lot of it.
This has led to a lot of discussion about who or what is to blame for the Patriots struggles. In the opinion of former NFL running back LeSean McCoy, it is Bill Belichick. During a recent segment on Speak on FS1, McCoy said that Belichick deserves all of the blame for New England’s struggles.
A popular debate for years was whether it was Belichick or quarterback Tom Brady who was the leading force behind the team’s success for nearly two decades. At this point, it would be hard to argue in favor of Belichick as he has found zero success without Brady as his starting quarterback.
Any issues with personnel and the roster also fall on Belichick’s shoulders as he is the general manager of the team. McCoy mentioned the “Patriots’ Way” that is not showing up on the field this season and that falls on the future Hall of Famer as well.
During the offseason, rumors floated around that Belichick and owner Robert Kraft weren’t on the same page anymore and their relationship was straining. Anything short of a playoff appearance would lead to him being relieved of his duties as head coach of the Patriots. That looks to be the path they are heading toward.
As the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. The Patriots and Belichick had a historic run together, but they look to be coming to the end of the road. On track to miss the postseason for the third time in four years and have easily the worst finish of the Belichick era, a changing of the guard could be on the horizon.
