Good morning, all!
The drumbeat to fire Patriots coach Bill Belichick is growing by the minute, after his team’s latest loss. On Sunday, the Patriots non-existent offense, led by inept quarterback Mac Jones, was on full display for an international audience. New England lost to the Indianapolis Colts, 10-6, in Germany, falling to 2-8. Led by the Boston Globe, the calls for Belichick’s firing are growing by the minute, especially with the Patriots entering a bye week.
Count me among those who believes this GOAT deserves to finish the season. Belichick put the Patriots on the map with six Super Bowl titles in nine appearances. Let him finish the season, before dismissing him. And at 2-8 with no sign of improvement, make no mistake the Belichick era in New England is winding down.
Once Bill is out the door, what happens next? The 71-year-old coach loves the game and does not want to retire. He was quoted last week as saying coaching “beats working for a living.” At 300 regular season victories, he is third on the NFL list of all-time coaching wins, 18 behind George Halas and 28 in back of Don Shula. Where would he go next?
The Los Angeles Chargers would be the perfect fit. It is not a secret coach Brandon Staley is on the hot seat. The Chargers are a mediocre 4-5, after Sunday’s home loss to the Lions. With a solid quarterback - something Belichick does not have with the Patriots - LAC should be performing better.
Imagine Belichick in Hollywood? Picture the attention he would draw away from the LA Rams? Suddenly, Los Angeles, which up to a few years ago did not even have an NFL club, would be the center of the football universe. Sorry Taylor Swift fans. Belichick’s New England coaching days may be numbered, but do not be surprise if the Chargers come calling and Belichick signs on to turn around that franchise.
Future of the Athletics hanging in the balance
MLB owners meet in Arlington, TX, starting today and the agenda includes a vote on the proposed move of the Athletics from Oakland to Las Vegas. Oakland is putting on a full court press to keep the ball club but my hunch is the owners will approve the transfer to LV. MLB wants to be in Las Vegas in a big way for two reasons: other professional teams are there and the gambling element, which baseball embraces even more than the pitch clock. Approving the move also enables MLB to add two more expansion clubs at $2 billion each. It should be a fascinating week.
Other thoughts…
Craig Counsell really loused things up by taking that Cubs managerial job, didn’t he? Unless you believe the Mets new baseball ops guy, David Stearns, told owner Steve Cohen his plan to turn the Mets around included firing Buck Showalter for Carlos Mendoza (and this is nothing against Mendoza), who has never managed a game in his life.
It leaves you shaking your head, when a college football coach gets fired and is still guaranteed $76 million. That’s the amount of money Jimbo Fisher is guaranteed, after Texas A&M gave him the heave-ho on Sunday.
We are watching seismic shifts in the college sports landscape, and mark my words, basketball will not escape the fallout, that seems to only be impacting football at the moment.
How popular is the NFL? Even the TNF game last week between the Carolina Panthers and the Chicago Bears on subscription-based Amazon Prime drew nearly 10-million viewers. The two teams were a combined 3-14 entering the game.
That is it for this week’s newsletter. As always, thanks for subscribing and feel free to share the newsletter with others. Peace!
SPORTSCASTER DAN