Patriots’ split with Bill Belichick likely ends the NFL era of autocratic ‘everything’ coaches

Robert Kraft said Bill Belichick earned it. Until he didn’t.

Therein lies the elastic and inevitable quandary of NFL owners who allow their head coaches to consolidate power and organizational autocracy on a level rarely seen in professional sports. It’s the kind of blood oath contract that maximizes potential but inevitably burns out. An accord that delivers victories, captures championships, generates riches, demands fame — all while winding down a path that rarely shrinks into a picturesque, softened sunset.

This was the hand-in-hand journey of the Belichick and Kraft as coach and owner of the New England Patriots, which came to an end on Thursday in a split that could represent the end of the league’s “everything” coaches. Even Rome had a last Caesar. For the NFL, Belichick could be it.

Yes, the NFL is a living, breathing, circular war of ideologies — promising to take every old idea and make it new again. But even on that landscape, Belichick was a true rarity. Not just a coach and general manager rolled into one, but also someone who both held and exercised total control of how every aspect of the organization was shaped. Hirings and firings. Salary cap and all avenues of personnel management. Draft picks. Free agents. Undrafted free agents. The full roster and practice squad. Gameday actives. The coaching staff and schemes. Everything.

He may not have invented the Patriots, but Belichick ran the football operation like Henry Ford ran his motor company. An envelope containing a key decision might pass through a litany of hands, but it never arrived at a conclusion without crossing the boss’ desk. Hell, there’s a solid chance the practice field grass couldn’t grow to a certain height unless it asked Belichick first.

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This isn’t the stuff of being a coach who has 51 percent of decision-making power written into his contract — that kind of setup is still somewhat common in today’s NFL. Nor…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-01-12 06:37:30

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