3 complete outside hires Patriots should consider to replace Bill Belichick
By John Buhler
No matter how you slice it, the New England Patriots absolutely stink. They may have a good defense and a hall-of-fame head coach, but it is a harsh reality to have to live in the past because the present is awful and the future looks so grim. The Patriots are 2-10 on the season. They are the worst team in the AFC, only to be outdone by the totally toothless Carolina Panthers in the NFC at an abysmal 1-11.
Bill Belichick has been a coaching institution in Foxborough for pretty much the entirety of the 21st century up to this point. However, once Tom Brady left the Patriots in 2020 NFL free agency, that was all she wrote for the Patriots ever being dynastic again. They have devolved into what they were before Robert Kraft bought the team in the early 1990s. They wish they could be St. Louis Stallions...
Not saying this is going to happen, but the Patriots may need so seriously consider pivoting of The Patriot Way for a bit. The Atlanta Braves did that in the mid-2010s once the John Schuerholz Braves Way became staler than mildewy bread festering in an abandoned parking lot somewhere. Atlanta reinvented itself by hiring general manager Alex Anthopoulos outside the organization around 2018.
If the Patriots were to replace Belichick with a complete outside hire, I would look at these three guys.
3 Bill Belichick replacements way outside the New England Patriots family
3. Kellen Moore will bring a modern passing offense over to Foxborough
At some point in the not-so-distant future, Kellen Moore will be a head coach. The former Boise State star quarterback spent a few years in the league as a backup quarterback for the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys before getting into coaching. He made his way up to being Dallas' offensive coordinator before a mutual parting of ways led to him leading the Los Angeles Chargers' offense.
Even though Moore has never been a head coach before, he would bring modern offensive philosophies to One Patriot Place. Since he has been in the NFL world for well over a decade now, I would venture to guess that he is well-connected in the coaching department. Keep in mind that his brother Kirby Moore is a hotshot offensive coordinator on the Cotton Bowl-bound Missouri Tigers.
To hire a first-time head coach and putting him into such a difficult situation like this is a tall order. Then again, if y'all want a reboot, this is a means to an end. To me, I think Moore waits another year, or just flat-out takes over for the NFL's greatest imposter of all time in Chargers head coach Brandon Staley. New England does not have a Justin Herbert, but could be in position to draft a Drake Maye.
His experiences at Boise State, Detroit, Dallas and Los Angeles might make Moore a good candidate.