An era of football that seemed like it would never end is finally here. The New England Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick have mutually agreed to part ways after arguably the greatest coaching run in NFL history.
The list of accomplishments Belichick has achieved is too lengthy to list. But the headliner is that he won six Super Bowls during his tenure with the Patriots. But once Tom Brady left and the winning came to a hault in Foxborough, it was time to make a change.
The Patriots have gone 29-38 in the four years since Brady's departure. The standard Belichick has created in New England means that type of record is unacceptable and whoever is charge should have to answer some questions, even if it is the greatest coach of all time.
No one should cry tears for Belichick, however. He wants to keep coaching and will surely land on his feet somewhere. There are seven current head coaching vacancies in the NFL at the moment. A couple of spots in particular look like great landing spots for the legendary head coach.
Los Angeles Chargers
Bill Belichick could never find the answer he was looking for at quarterback ever since Brady left the building. If he couldn't bring the quarterback in, why wouldn't he just go to the best quarterback he can find then?
Of all the NFL openings at the moment, the one team with a proven and entrenched franchise quarterback already in tow is the Chargers with Justin Herbert. Herbert's play wasn't quite up to par this season, but he was on pace for yet another 4,000-yard season before a finger injury derailed his season.
Herbert also ranked 19th in Expected Points Added (EPA) plus Completion Percentage Over Expectation (CPOE) composite score in 2023, via RBSDM. That was the lowest ranking Herbert has posted in his career.
Herbert has battled plenty of adversity through his career. Despite him proving to the world that he is a legit franchise quarterback, the rest of the Chargers' roster during his career has not lived up to its billing.
Injuries have really put a dent in the Chargers' ability to contend during his tenure as a starter as well as a defense that has been torched year in and year out. Belichick would help with the latter.
Even this season as the Patriots won only four games, New England's defense showed promise at times. The Chargers need coach that will help shore up mistakes and improve their defense. Belichick has looked for a quarterback ever since Brady left. This seems like a perfect match.
Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons may not have the proven quarterback on their roster; Desmond Ridder certainly proved he is not the long-term answer at quarterback for the franchise. But the rest of the Falcons' roster is pretty loaded. They have the skill position weapons in Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts. Their defense ranked 11th in the league by allowing 321.1 YPG.
Atlanta is lacking the quarterback, but they have the means to acquire that pass thrower. They could use some of their $37 million to sign one or use the eight overall pick to draft one. In a very winnable division, it isn't hard to envision Belichick turning this team into an instant winner. This pairing makes a lot of sense.
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