10 October 2023 , 17:33
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The "Patriot-Killer" Bernard Pollard believes it is time for the New England Patriots to part ways with head coach and de facto general manager Bill Belichick after their 1-4 start to the 2023 NFL season.
Belichick, 71, is in Year 29 - the 24th season with the Pats - as a head coach, and this is the worst five-game stretch in decades. The six-time Super Bowl champion is 18 wins away from passing Don Shula as the coach with most victories in league history, but that crown seems as far away as ever. New England is 72-3 combined across their last two games and has not scored a touchdown in five halves of football.
Instead, Belichick is amassing unwanted milestones with every passing week this season. The 38-3 road loss to the Dallas Cowboys was the heaviest defeat of his coaching career, and last week's 34-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints at Gillette Stadium is his worst-ever home defeat.
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After that embarrassment, Belichick has spoken about starting over mid-season to salvage their campaign. However, that does not include sacrificing quarterback Mac Jones despite his benching during the last two games and the additional reps that Bailey Zappe is receiving in practice.
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Pollard agrees with Belichick in calling for change to turn around this season before it becomes a complete write-off for the franchise. However, his version of starting over has the organisation dispensing with the man on the sidelines more abruptly than anyone would have anticipated coming into this season.
"It's going to have to be a new coach," the Super Bowl champion said on OutKick's "Hot Mic" on Monday. "And that's the crazy thing because we've seen this team be so dominant, winning the [AFC] East every single year.
Belichick is facing unprecedented pressure as the Patriots' underperformance continues (AP)"But I'm seeing an organisation; I'm seeing a football team that's terrible. I don't know if this is the way Belichick wants to go out or wanted to go out, but I think this is going to be the way he goes out."
Pollard continued: "This team is not playing with any kind of juice, so you're starting to wonder, are these younger guys starting to buck the system a little bit? I remember when I was playing, and shortly after I was done playing, guys would talk about going to New England like you didn't want to go because he trained you like a soccer team; you did certain things.
"So, I don't know if that – you talked about the New England way, the ‘Patriot Way,’ I don't know if that is a thing anymore. They're looking like trash … this is terrible.
"They've got to start with a new coach, they've got to get something fresh in there to start this thing over for New England. They've been good for a long time, hats off to them, but it's time to start over."