The Patriot Way is dead.
Without Tom Brady, it might have never lived.
More on that angle later. For now, it’s obvious that, in today’s NFL, the militaristic approach to pro football doesn’t work. Players no longer are willing to check their individuality at the door. To fully submit to the authority of the head coach. To self-police every single word they say to the media, like robots.
The proof that it doesn’t work comes primarily from the stream of failed Belichick disciples who have tried, consciously or not, to implement the Patriot Way elsewhere. Find guys who love football so much that they’ll gladly take whatever shit the head coach forces on them. Who would play for free, which means they’ll take less than that could get elsewhere. Who will “do your job” and never question anything. Who will accept the fact that there are only three times each year to be happy — as the confetti falls, during the parade, and the night the rings are distributed.
Look at the most recent failures. Josh McDaniels in Las Vegas. Joe Judge in New York. Matt Patricia in Detroit. Even when they vow to be their own men, they don’t realize that extended time with Bill Belichick has essentially altered their DNA. They think it’s normal to be that way, a cocktail of arrogance and dismissiveness and asshole-ishness that works only if the team wins, and wins quickly.
If the Raiders, Giants, and/or Lions had found fast success, these branches of the Belichick tree would be thriving. But they didn’t, in part because of the culture shock they each brought to their respective towns. Possibly without even realizing it. That’s perhaps why McDaniels’s demeanor changed so dramatically after a meeting that left him more rattled than Michael Scott after getting roasted. Moments like that make people question the foundation of their entire approach to whatever they do.
And the foundation of the Patriot Way is, basically, quicksand.
That’s the way it would have been for Belichick, but for a sixth-round quarterback who was so desperate to prove himself that he welcomed whatever it took to make Belichick happy. And, also, he happened to become a great player.
Really, without Tom Brady, how long would Belichick have lasted in New England?
This isn’t to say Brady was more important to the team’s success than Belichick (even if Brady arguably was). The point is that Belichick never gets six rings without Brady. Belichick wouldn’t have come close to getting six years without Brady.
Currently, Belichick is on track to not get a fifth year post-Brady.
If Brady had never become Brady, Belichick would have continued to be who he always has been. And he would have gotten fired. And he would have ended up being a defensive coordinator again. And maybe, like Wade Phillips, Belichick might have gotten another head-coaching opportunity. At some point, Belichick would have been relegated to Xs and Os with no responsibility to set the tone or craft the culture or lead a team.
His lieutenants have all failed. The closest any former New England assistant coach came to thriving was Bill O’Brien, with the Texans. Also, former director of college scouting Thomas Dimitroff, who managed to avoid picking up any of Belichick’s attitude or eccentricities, lasted a decade in Atlanta.
Beyond that, it doesn’t work. Without Brady, it never would have.