One year after Tom Brady left to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the New England Patriots are back in the playoffs.
The Patriots finished the regular season with a 10-7 record and the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoffs, earning them a trip to Buffalo for a matchup against the Bills in the Wild Card Round on Saturday night.
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Even though the Patriots have bounced back well from their disappointing 2020 season, one former Bills running back isn't optimistic about the team's chances of winning another Super Bowl title under head coach Bill Belichick.
“(Belichick) will never win another championship ever again,” LeSean McCoy said on the latest episode of the "I Am Athlete" podcast. “That (expletive) is dead.”
McCoy also told the story of a July 4 party during which he spoke to Patriots owner Robert Kraft about Brady leaving New England.
Here's what Kraft allegedly told McCoy:
“I’m mad (Tom Brady) left. I told Bill, 'Damnit, you let Tom win a championship. It’s time for you to win one.'”
Watch McCoy tell the story in the second video below (WARNING: Some NSFW language):
We don't know how much longer Belichick will coach the Patriots -- he'll be 70 years old in April -- but saying he'll never win another championship is a little too bold.
The same doubts about Belichick and the Patriots winning another Super Bowl were a topic in 2012, 2013 and even into 2014 when the team's title drought had reached almost a decade. And then the Patriots won three more Super Bowl titles in a five-year span from 2014 through 2018.
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Sure, Brady is gone, but the Patriots have built a pretty good roster over the last year or so. They have a strong offensive line, an excellent rushing attack and a defense that ranked No. 2 in points allowed and No. 4 in yards allowed. Rookie quarterback Mac Jones showed plenty of promise in the regular season despite his struggles over the last four games.
The Kansas City Chiefs figure to be a very tough opponent in the AFC for a long time assuming Patrick Mahomes stays healthy. But it's not unreasonable to think the Patriots could also be squarely in the mix for the conference title, especially if Jones develops into a star quarterback.
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