2. Offensive Innovation Will Overtake Defensive Genius
Reid is widely considered the best offensive mind of his generation, perfecting the West Coast offense while inspiring a wide variety of offensive styles in the modern game. He continually adds wrinkles to Kansas City's attack and this 2023 unit is no exception.
Belichick is the best defensive coach of all-time, though we're seeing the limitations of that approach when your offense can't keep up. The Patriots defense has been good since Brady left, but the offense so terrible that New England has no real chance of competing.
Bill Belichick has been failing as the Patriots GM for at least 5 years.
— Savage (@SavageSports_) October 17, 2023
People forget that one of the reasons Tom Brady wanted to leave is the lack of offensive talent in 2019.
Then he literally had no succession plan for Tom Brady.
It’s been rough for a while from a GM…
It's ironic that Reid's greatest mistake will prove Belichick's downfall. Reid struggled with the duties of both GM and coach with the Eagles, ultimately resulting in his firing. Brett Veach handles personnel in Kansas City, giving Reid the opportunity to focus on what he does best: coach.
On the other hand, Belichick's mystifying decisions leading the Patriots' front office hamstring him as a coach. He's been a dreadful offensive talent evaluator both in the draft and in free agency. As a result, New England has perhaps the NFL's worst skill-position players AND perhaps the worst quarterback.
Bill Belichick: “I can win with any quarterback”
— Savage (@SavageSports_) October 17, 2023
With Brady, Belichick's career record is 219-64.
Without Brady, Belichick's career record is 80-93.
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In 20 years, Reid's innovations and impact on the game will be more obvious than Belichick's. It's easy to look around the league and see Reid's influence, from the explosive attacks of Mike McDaniel and Kyle Shanahan to his massive coaching tree including John Harbaugh, Doug Pederson, Ron Rivera, and Sean McDermott, just to name a few.
It's much more difficult to see Belichick's impact. Defensive schemes are hard for the average fan to understand. "Wow, that team scores a lot" is a more common thought than "look at how the defense is disguising coverages!"
Belichick's coaching tree is littered with failures too. His rude, unapologetic style only works if you're winning and so far, none of the coaches associated with Belichick win much. Right now, Belichick isn't winning either.
That impolite, borderline-disrespectful personality will ultimately prove Belichick's undoing in the eyes of many.