Bill Belichick helped lead the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl titles and is arguably the most accomplished coach in history. But according to one former player, he was also the reason for the team’s downfall.
During a recent interview on The Athletic Football Show, former New England Patriots running back Damien Harris called out Bill Belichick for the team’s struggles on the offensive side of the ball, blaming the struggles not on quarterback Mac Jones, but on Belichick’s assistant coaching hires.
“What happened to Mac Jones in New England was not because of Mac Jones,” Harris said according to Boston.com. “What happened in New England to Mac Jones was because of the fact you took away an offensive coordinator who coached him to be a Pro Bowler and almost coached us to winning our division with a rookie quarterback in his first year.
“And then you take — whenever Josh McDaniels left — Matt Patricia, who has coached defenses his entire life, and Joe Judge, who has been a special teams coach, coached receivers at some point. And then you just throw them in there and be like, ‘Hey, coach this kid up. He’s a first-round pick, but as long as you teach him what I say, everything will be fine,’ and [stuff] wasn’t fine.”
As Harris explains, the reason for the struggles on the offensive side of the ball ultimately came down to Belichick simply refusing to give up control – though Harris does understand why he took that approach.
“He needs full-on control. That’s just the kind of guy Bill Belichick is,” said Harris. “But at the same time, can you blame him? Because in the 20 years where he had full control, he had a lot of success. So you can’t blame him.”
Regardless of whether or not his actions were justifiable, Harris clearly thinks that Belichick is to blame for the team’s collapse.
