The New England Patriots were among the most successful team in NFL history, spanning 20 years of dominance over the rest of the league and winning six Super Bowls in a short span. No team has ever come close to that achievement in that amount of time. 

Unfortunately, we are entering the era of being the worst team in the division we used to dominate. The Tom Brady-less Patriots have only been to the playoffs once and have finished the last three seasons with a record of 25-25. The main problems with the Patriots have been around for a long time, but were less noticeable under the greatness of Brady.

Any successful team in the NFL has these three elements: a great front office, a great coach and a great quarterback. The Patriots lack two of these elements, which I think is Bill Belichick’s fault. 

Bill Belichick is a great coach and might be the best to ever do it, but this does not mean we can’t hold him accountable for how bad the Patriots have become since Brady left. There is hope, though, that with the free agency and the draft coming up, the Patriots can be Super Bowl contenders again. 

A step the Patriots need to take to get back on the path of winning is to pursue a new quarterback that has the potential to carry the franchise. The first option would be Lamar Jackson, because he is a former MVP, an All-Pro and a four time Pro-Bowler with incredible athletic ability that no defense can stop. Pair that with an all-time great coach like Bill Belichick, and you’re golden.

The only issue with this option is that Jackson has not been able to stay healthy throughout the past three seasons. Another option the Patriots could take is trading up to draft a talented quarterback in this draft: likely Bryce Young, Will Levis or Anthony Richardson. Any of these quarterback options would be better than Mac Jones. 

The fact that there were people in the Patriots locker room questioning who should start between Jones and Bailey Zappe is already a call for concern. The only time Jones has ever looked good was when he was playing at Alabama with all the talent in the country. Once you take that talent away, it makes him look entirely different. Jones is a clear bust and needs talent around him to be great. We need a quarterback who can elevate others and make them better, which is the inverse to Jones. 

Another step to becoming successful is to hire an actual general manager to run the front office in order to draft and develop players over time. Currently, Belichick is the general manager of the Patriots and in his tenure has only hit on six players during his 20 year run in New England.

Belichick has also struggled to surround the team with competent coaches. Last year, Belichick had a former defensive coordinator call the offensive plays, which is madness. 

I believe once the Patriots are able to get someone in the front office that can draft well and they hire coaches to develop the young talent, they’ll be better. The fact of the matter is this offseason is make or break for the Patriots. If they fail to get a great quarterback, then the Patriots will have no other choice than to waste another season with the greatest coach of all time.