Now before you pass this up as clickbait, there’s a legitimate story being swirled around that a titan of the industry is projecting. ESPN predicts that New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will end up with the Super Bowl rival New York Giants.
As ridiculous as it may sound to Patriots fans who have grown up watching Belichick roam the sidelines since the beginning of the milennium, the news outlet makes a compelling case as to why this could happen.
Mike Sando, an ESPN senior writer boldly predicted this as one of his 26 predictions that the new year will bring about.
“With the new year approaching, I’ve collected 26 NFL predictions for 2018 from league insiders, ranking them from most believable to most outlandish,” Sando begins in his article. “Some seem downright far-fetched, but is anything far-fetched in a league that saw the Los Angeles Rams transform themselves into an offensive powerhouse overnight?”
The 26th and final prediction proved to be the most shocking of all. Here is the projection as written by Sando.
26. Bill Belichick will be the New York Giants’ next head coach
The reason: Prediction No. 18 had Caserio and McDaniels bailing from New England before the kingdom fell. This prediction flips the script. Belichick becomes the first to leave, allowing the Patriots to continue with Caserio and McDaniels in charge. Belichick gets a new challenge with an organization that remains fond of him from his days as an assistant. The Giants get a coach uniquely equipped to handle whatever might come his way.
The caveat: Why would Belichick leave a championship operation for a floundering one? If he really wanted change, he could have his choice of jobs after Brady retires — whenever that day comes.
Here is the two cents here, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, and director of player personnel Nick Caserio were the building blocks of a franchise building towards the future.
McDaniels would become head coach and have a more than qualified quarterback in Garoppolo ready to build a team around with whatever the future general manager Caserio would give them.
But the Patriots traded away the supposed “next in line” for a second round draft pick without a care in the world putting the next supposed “next in lines” in a bad position.
Putting this argument aside, let’s stick with the here and now. Belichick has said time and time again that there’s no other quarterback he would rather have commanding his huddle than Brady.
Belichick is building his team for the now and the amount of time he wants to spend as the head coach of the Patriots whether it be two years or more. Brady is indeed apart of his team’s makeup.
The coach has already built quite literally a winning franchise with a winning formula that keeps him in contention to win more rings to add to the name of his boat and hands. Why on Earth would you give up a legacy and an outstanding monopoly you have created with this football team and go to a team that you would have to start all over again with?
Cause that’s exactly what he would have to do if he were to leave for the Giants. Starting with gaining a good rapport with the ownership, sacrifice creative control as he wouldn’t be the general manager anymore, find a suitable quarterback, find coaches he is comfortable with to have on his staff, the list goes on and on.
Yes, he was indeed an assistant coach for this organization on the Super Bowl winning Bill Parcells coached teams, but the organization and the way that it runs is presumably not the same and wouldn’t be the Giants he would be coming back to.
With all these reasons laid out, not only does this prediction seem outlandish and out of character. It’s also unrealistic and ignorant to think that one of the smartest men in the history of the sport would make such a decision.
