FOXBOROUGH – Bill Belichick mentioned last week that he would be open to the idea of stepping down as the Patriots general manager to stay as the team’s head coach.
Ultimately, Patriots owner Robert Kraft knew that would never work.
With the way NFL teams are set up, Kraft knows there needs to be harmony between the head coach and general manager. Things often go awry when that’s not the case and it’s why it’s not unusual to see a head coach fired after a new general manager takes over.
“Accountability is important in every one of our companies,” Kraft said on Thursday. “Where he had the responsibility and then someone else takes it, it’s going to set up confusion and, ‘Well, it was his pick, and ‘That was a bad pick’, or ‘He didn’t play him right.’ It just wouldn’t work. In my opinion.”
Kraft’s point was a great one. It wouldn’t have worked well had he stripped Belichick of his general manager power. That’s why the Patriots owner must get this next move right – and we’re not talking about his next head coach.
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When Kraft and Belichick announced that they were mutually and amicably parting on Thursday, plenty of attention was turned to who would become the next Patriots head coach. The front runners are all familiar names in Jerod Mayo, Mike Vrabel, and Brian Flores. However, even more important is for Kraft to figure out who will ‘pick the groceries.’
Kraft may very well have his sights set on Mayo, Vrabel, or Flores, but it’s even more important that he set his new head coach up with an aligned general manager. Whether that be in-house (Eliot Wolf or Steve Cargile) or an outside candidate (Cincinnati’s Trey Brown or Kansas City’s Mike Borgonzi), it’s vital that this person not only agrees with who the next head coach is but has the same values when it comes to how to build a football team.
On Thursday, Kraft was asked if he would hire a general manager first.
“The question you’re asking is very important,” Kraft said. “Until we settled what we settled yesterday and announced today, we will try to move very quickly to solve those issues and we’ll have a chance to talk about that in the very near future.”
Kraft learned long ago what can happen when there’s no symmetry between a head coach and a front office. That point came across when former Patriots head coach Bill Parcels was unhappy about not having control over his roster. That’s why he left New England to go to the New York Jets.
Ultimately, Kraft ended up hiring Belichick and giving the coach the keys to the castle.
“You have someone like Bill who’s had control over every decision,” Kraft explained. “Every coach we hire, the organization reports to him on the draft and how much money we spend. Every decision has been his and we’ve always supported him.”
With Belichick out, Kraft’s first order of business isn’t who will replace his head coach, but who will run his front office. The owner knows it will be important for the head coach to have someone who he can rely on to make big decisions and someone who isn’t afraid to say the word, ‘No.’
“All of us need checks and balances in our life,” Kraft said. “I call it, we need Dr. No around us, people to protect ourselves from ourselves. And as things evolve, and you get more power, sometimes people are afraid to speak up. I’m speaking about all companies and I think it’s good to have checks and balances and once you have it, it is kind of hard to pull it away and expect to have the accountability you want.”
Even during this past year’s 4-13 season, no one was doubting Belichick’s ability as a head coach. The Patriots fought hard, players cared and the defense looked elite despite missing multiple key players due to injury.
The problem came down to drafting and roster building.
That was the biggest issue facing Kraft’s 2023 Patriots team. Now, it’s up to him to find the person to rebuild the Patriots. We have a general idea of who the next head coach might be (Mayo, Vrabel, or Flores), but the most important hire could very well be who’s running the front office.
That decision could make or break the Patriots next chapter.
