TOUGH JOB(S) TO FOLLOW LEGENDS OF THE FALL
Succession difficult with Belichick, Brady
There’s been all kinds of speculation about the end game for Bill Belichick, Tom
Brady and Robert Kraft in Foxboro. Does anyone truly know how it’s going to play out for the Patriots’ Big Three?
Fans are hoping for one more championship, perhaps even more. Whether it ends peacefully is anyone’s guess.
Team owner Kraft, however, has to prepare for a time when he has neither man on his payroll. Brady, 40, can’t play forever, and is nearing that time. As for Belichick, he’ll be 66 in April.
It’s going to happen, and it seems sooner, rather than later.
Does Kraft have a succession plan in place for Belichick? In past conversations the Herald has had with the team’s CEO, he has stated he knew when that day might be, when the Hoodie planned on walking away. And naturally, he’s prepared with a plan.
If that plan is offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, it sure seems as if he might be headed for another head coaching job whether it’s the Colts, Giants or Bears. McDaniels had interviews scheduled with each of those teams this weekend. If Plan B is defensive coordinator
Matt Patricia, he might be gone, too. He also is going through the interview process with the Lions, Cardinals and Giants.
As for the succession plan for Brady, Belichick thought he had that in place, but Jimmy
Garoppolo landed in San Francisco. So there’s no heir apparent to Brady. Not yet anyway.
Maybe both McDaniels, if he in fact leaves, and Jimmy G lucked out. Who wants to succeed such a legendary coach as Belichick? And who really wants to follow the G.O.A.T.?
How do you replace the best who ever lived in both jobs? That has failure written all over it, not that it hasn’t been done. Aaron Rodgers has done a pretty good job following Brett Favre in Green Bay. And while Steve
Young was no Joe Montana, he did win San Francisco’s fifth Super Bowl title after Montana’s departure, and is in the Hall of Fame on his own merits.
But there have been plenty of flops. Anyone seen a legitimate replacement for Hall of Famer Dan Marino in Miami?
Then there’s the head coach, a five-time Super Bowl winner and coaching deity. Good luck finding another Belichick, another impossible mission. Who replaced Vince Lombardi?
Who replaced Paul Brown? There’s certain guys you just don’t replace.
Who replaced Bill Parcells with the Patriots? It was Pete
Carroll, and he had nowhere to go but down. Carroll was always measured by the Tuna. He had to leave to establish his own identity and level of success.
Let’s remember, too, Belichick runs all things football in Foxboro. He has total control of the operation.
There’s no Hoodie II, just as there’s no Brady II. They’re so special, they’re one-of-a-kind. They can’t be cloned. Good luck to whoever follows them.
When it comes to following Brady, the answer will once again lie in the draft. As for Belichick, who might Kraft hand the baton to, if he walked out after this season?
Here are the likely candidates:
• McDaniels — Assuming he sticks around, which is a big if, and Kraft continues to make it worth his while to do so, he obviously has a handle on Brady, and the goings on in Foxboro. He’s coached in three Super Bowls and been the winning offensive coordinator in two. He also helped develop Garoppolo. The hope is he learned from his failed experience in Denver to be a better head coach the second time around. The 41-year-old McDaniels has turned down offers in previous years.
• Bill O'Brien — The Texans coach has a year left on his deal, and has yet to sign an extension. That might happen when a new general manager is put in place, but for now, O’Brien could be available. This season notwithstanding, he’s had success in Houston and had the team rolling this season before losing phenom quarterback Deshaun Watson to injury. He already has a relationship with Brady and Kraft. There would be continuity with the offense and the system. The 48-year-old O’Brien grew up locally in Andover.
• Patricia — It also remains to be seen whether he takes a job with another team. Patricia, 43, has been drawing job interviews not only because of what he’s done with the Patriots defense, but because of his intelligence and ability to relate to players. He’s an unknown as a head coach, but has worked his way through the Patriots system and Kraft could once again keep it in the family so to speak.
• Mike Vrabel — The former Patriots linebacker doesn’t have much experience. He has just one season served as defensive coordinator for the Texans after being linebackers coach for three years. Belichick, for one, thought he’d make a great head coach one day when asked a few years ago.
“I think Mike’s got a great mind for (coaching), great passion for it,” Belichick said. “He’s got great playing experience. He can draw on things. I never played in this league. I can’t draw on those. I think there’s definitely an advantage. I don’t think that’s a ticket. There’s a lot of other things that go into it, too, but I mean that’s something that, if it’s used properly, I think it’s valuable.”
• Brian Flores — Currently the Patriots linebackers coach, he’s spent multiple years as a scout, special teams, offensive, and defensive coach. That works well as a head coach. The players respect him, and while some may think he’s good to have on the list because as a minority, he’d satisfy the Rooney Rule, he’s so much more. He’s a legitimate candidate for any team including the Patriots because he’s been involved in every level of the organization and been successful at every stop.
The Indianapolis Star put together some interesting statistics with the Colts currently amid a coaching search. The premise was whether experience mattered. The answer was no, based on the data they produced. They looked at head coaches hired for the first time within the last 20 years — not counting Belichick and Carroll — as they determined their winning per-
centages compared to those of coaching veterans getting another shot.
The results:
• First-time coaches: .490 winning percentage
• Veteran coaches: .446 winning percentage
• Most successful veteran coaches: Gary Kubiak, .656; Doug Marrone, .611; Andy
Reid, .606; Jim Caldwell, .562; John Fox, .536; Jack Del Rio,
.521; Jon Gruden, .509.
• Least successful veteran coaches: Hue Jackson, .031; Chip Kelly, .125; Ken Whisenhunt, .130; Romeo Crennel, 211; Jim Mora, .313; Eric Mangini, .313; Herm Edwards, .313.
Talib keeping tabs All-in with Jimmy G
Forty-Niners general manager John Lynch was a guest on the Talk of Fame Network and naturally gushed about Jimmy G, who has taken San Francisco by storm. He hopes to sign Garoppolo, who went 5-0 in the games he started down the stretch, to a new deal and keep the former Patriots backup in the fold for the foreseeable future.
“He makes others better. Jimmy has shown he can lift a team,” Lynch said. “Now we have to go to work to keep him a 49er for a long time. We really believe we have a franchise quarterback. We really do. He made us better. He can lift an organization.’’
Aqib Talib is rarely a dull interview. So naturally, he made some interesting remarks as a sports radio guest on Denver’s “Vic Lombardi Show” last week. First, he was a bit coy about whether he would be returning for his fifth season with the Broncos.
“If I wasn’t (returning), it wouldn’t be the most surprising thing in the world. You have three corners making big money and that’s rare to have,” said Talib, who has two years remaining on the five-year contract he signed in 2014. “I had conversations with our staff during our exit meetings and stuff, so it’s kind of up in the air. But I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m still here.”
The 31-year-old corner, who was with the Patriots from 2012-13 after arriving via a deadline deal, carries a cap hit of $12 million.
“I definitely want to be back. I’d love to retire as a Bronco,” Talib said. “It’s probably the funnest locker room. I met real friends on this team. We got great memories — Super Bowl 50. Not even just the Super Bowl. Off the field, memories together. I love the guys on the team. I love the staff. I’d love to come back.” Talib also believes GM John Elway will take care of the situation at quarterback and make the team competitive once again.
“Me knowing John, I don’t really know if he wants to rebuild and have two more seasons of 8-8 and 7-9 and `we’re getting better,’” Talib said. “I don’t know if he’s ready to do that. John is ready to get back to the top because that’s where he belongs. That’s just John Elway. I don’t really see him drafting a rookie and trying to rebuild. I see him getting a vet and getting back to the top ASAP because that’s where he belongs.”
No Carr repairmen
Many people think Gruden will fix all that ails Oakland quarterback Derek Carr, who regressed this season. CBS sports analyst Rich Gannon, rumored to be joining Gruden’s staff, said it’s going to mostly be up to Carr to turn things around.
“Well, it’s hard, because sometimes you can’t change a person, the way they’re wired, or even their personality or their demeanor, and I just think that all the great ones have a little bit of jerk in them, if you know what I mean,” Gannon told the East Bay Times. “I just think he’s gotta find a way. I’m not saying to be abusive or to embarrass somebody. It’s just a question of just saying, `Guys, I’ve got to be able to hold everyone to a certain standard and if it’s not done the way I want it, I’m gonna tell ya, in no uncertain terms.’ And I just think that’s leadership. That’s what you want at that position. I think all the great ones do it, all the great ones have it. And he’s gonna have to find a way to get it out of himself.
“Jon can’t do that. I can’t do that. You can coach him up a little bit differently and I think he’s gonna be coached differently. I think he has no idea what’s in store for him, just in terms of the level of preparation, the attention to detail. He’s gonna be as prepared as any quarterback could possibly be to go out and really play championship-caliber football, but he has to do it. If he doesn’t wanna come in and spend eight hours on Tuesday, his day off, then you can’t make him.”