The Bill Belichick era ended for the New England Patriots after 24 seasons when the two sides parted ways a few months ago following a very dismal 2023 campaign.
The team is moving forward with new head coach Jerod Mayo, who played linebacker for Belichick from 2008 to 2015, as well as Drake Maye, the No. 3 pick in last month’s draft, at quarterback.
However, there does remain one reminder of Belichick’s long and successful tenure — his son Brian, who is a safeties coach for New England.
The younger Belichick explained why he decided to remain put even after his father left.
“I was thankful and happy to get the opportunity to coach here and was thankful and happy to take advantage of it and take (Mayo) up on it,” Brian Belichick said, per Mark Daniels of MassLive.com.
He started out with New England in 2016 as a scouting assistant, even though he had no football experience at that time as either a player or coach at the pro or college level.
While he did play football in high school, he was a lacrosse player while he was at Trinity College.
In 2017, the younger Belichick became an assistant on his father’s staff before he became the Patriots’ safeties coach ahead of the 2020 season.
It is definitely a brave new world for the Patriots, a franchise that won six Super Bowl championships from 2001 to 2018 and is accustomed to at least being in the conversation for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
While Maye could become a deserving heir apparent to Tom Brady, who departed after the 2019 season, they lack viable skill players on offense.
However, their defense wasn’t too shabby this past season, and while they likely won’t make the playoffs this winter, perhaps that defense could give their fans a ray of hope for the immediate future.
