It's shaping up to be a fascinating offseason for Bill Belichick and whatever team he ends up joining. Now the former New England Patriots head coach, Belichick is moving on in 2024 and so are the Patriots. New England has hired Jerod Mayo to take Belichick's place, likely a longstanding succession plan as Mayo has been coveted by other teams in recent years but has turned them down.
Belichick may be gone from the Patriots, but we know that wherever a former Patriot goes, other former Patriots are never far behind.
With the rumor mill churning as of late, and reports of Bill Belichick potentially nearing a deal to become the next head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, what other former Patriots could ultimately follow him?
1. Josh McDaniels, offensive coordinator
If there's one role Josh McDaniels has actually thrived in as an NFL coach, it's the offensive coordinator position under Bill Belichick. McDaniels has failed at pretty much every other stop, but when he's worked with Belichick, the results have been rather good, to put it lightly.
Of course, we're not going to add Tom Brady to this list, but the last time Belichick and McDaniels were together, they had Mac Jones playing at a Pro Bowl level in New England.
I don't think any of us should be shocked to see McDaniels resurface in Atlanta, or wherever Belichick winds up coaching this coming season. He's familiar with McDaniels, and together, these guys have a catalog of quarterbacks they could call upon to operate their offense and have success right away.
2. Jimmy Garoppolo, quarterback
We saw Josh McDaniels and the Las Vegas Raiders bring in Jimmy Garoppolo on a pretty substantial contract in the 2023 offseason. With the Raiders likely to send Garoppolo packing this offseason, I think a logical landing spot is wherever Bill Belichick winds up, especially if McDaniels is the offensive coordinator.
The Patriots once believed that Garoppolo could be the heir apparent to Tom Brady, but they never saw that plan to fruition because of the fact that Brady played much longer than anyone could have possibly anticipated. Because of that, they traded Garoppolo to the 49ers, where he had a lot of success.
As rough as the 2023 season was for Garoppolo, he's undoubtedly going to be a coveted option for teams as a bridge option yet again in 2024. A reunion with Belichick makes a lot of sense.
3. Mac Jones, quarterback
This one I could see going either way. You might see this one as extremely unlikely due to the fact that Jones was just benched this past season by Belichick, but if Josh McDaniels comes with him, perhaps Mac Jones could be a fit again.
Like I said before, the last time McDaniels and Belichick were together, Mac Jones made the Pro Bowl in his rookie season. Perhaps the Falcons (or whoever) could trade for Jones and get him for a discounted price to reunite not only with Belichick but McDaniels potentially as well.
4. Mike Onwenu, OL
It's hard to envision a scenario in which the New England Patriots just let Mike Onwenu out of the building, but if they do, there's no question that Belichick is going to have his agent on speed dial.
Onwenu has been a stellar pickup for the Patriots as a relatively unheralded draft pick out of Michigan, and he's done a great job not only at the guard position, but this past year at tackle as well. He might have played his way to the franchise tag. But even that might not stop Belichick from pursuing him at his next stop.
5. Josh Uche, EDGE
In the NFL today, you've got to be able to bring waves of pass rush, and Bill Belichick has built his teams accordingly through the years in New England. I think in Atlanta or otherwise, we would see a huge emphasis and investment on the defensive front, and a player like Josh Uche could undoubtedly be at the top of Belichick's wish list of players to follow him from New England to another team.
Uche had a bit of a down year statistically in 2023, but he showed in 2022 what kind of player he's capable of being with 11.5 sacks, 25 pressures, and 14 QB hits. He's got some serious chops off the edge and could be an impact player for Belichick at his next stop.