Not what one expects when you hire an offensive minded head coach

[kingm56]

Age may play a role to a degree, but basically Brady left and the team collapsed. Brady went to a team that was previously bad, and then he immediately won a Super Bowl and made the playoffs the next year. I mean that's pretty stark, is it not? The Bucs are not a team that you normally see in the playoffs. Then Brady retired and now the Bucks are a losing team again. The evidence (in this sequence of events) seems pretty straightforward. Blaming the sudden dip in the Pats' performance post the Brady departure on things like age and the loss of assistants (Belichick disciples have been getting hired away for two decades) feels like a reach.

Also, age was clearly not a factor for Belichick in Cleveland, where he spent five seasons amassing a subpar 36-44 record.

For the record, I think Belichick is an amazing coach. Probably top five of all time and easily top 10. I just don't think the influence of head coaches is as gargantuan as I think others do. And that is not at all to say they don't matter. Obviously they matter. I just dispute how much they matter.

Spot-on, Jeff! The notion the Bucs were a talented team before Brady arrived is overstated; the Bucs were 5-11, 5-11, and 7-9 before Brady arrived.  Is a 17-31 record indicative of a 'talented team'?   According to Bill P, you are what your records says you are; If you prescribe to that notion, than it's obvious the Bucs were hardly talented.    Concerning Bruce Arian, he's actually further evidence of fans overvaluing coaching.  When paired with a healthy Pro Bowl QB, he won double-digit games, when Palmer succumbed to multiple injuries and retired, coupled with Larry Fitzgerald hitting 34 years old, he produced a 22-25-1 records.  BTW, this was while playing in the unquestionable worst division in football.  Amazingly, he was good again as soon as Brady arrived.  You can also use Drew Brees and Sean Payton to further solidify this notion.  Sean Payton endured one losing season without Brees before 'retiring.' 

BTW, Bill B records without Tom Brady is now 81 – 94; the bulk of which was recorded in his prime coaching years. 

[DaveBrown74]

Brady left the Pats to join a talented Bucs team with a top-notch coach in Bruce Arians (when Brady left the Bucs the team was far less talented than when he joined them and they had lost their ace head coach).

Belichick hasn't had a franchise-caliber QB since Brady left

If the Bucs team that Brady joined in 2020 was so established and talented, why were they a losing team the season just prior to his arrival?

[MightyGiants]

If the Bucs team that Brady joined in 2020 was so established and talented, why were they a losing team the season just prior to his arrival?

Some of that talent (like their Probowl RT) were aquired in the draft just prior to Brady joining.   Plus, the prior QB was a drag on the team.

[BluesCruz]

Im immensely unimpressed with Dabolls play book and playcalling

He will run a nice play like that misdirection to Robinson (it worked fabulously well)

then you never see an imaginative play call again all game

Daboll was a great assistant coach, and thats his ceiling

Also all the continual efforts to "Get Barkley involved" leads to the defense birddogging Barkley....this is not a Daboll thing exclusively- every HC we have had since we drafted Barkley has been guilty of the same issue

Also Barkley is fast in the open field but has trouble getting off the snap and can no longer get to the corners on time

Letting Ritchie James walk was also a huge mistake

[Gmo11]

Im immensely unimpressed with Dabolls play book and playcalling

He will run a nice play like that misdirection to Robinson (it worked fabulously well)

then you never see an imaginative play call again all game

Daboll was a great assistant coach, and thats his ceiling

Also all the continual efforts to "Get Barkley involved" leads to the defense birddogging Barkley....this is not a Daboll thing exclusively- every HC we have had since we drafted Barkley has been guilty of the same issue

Also Barkley is fast in the open field but has trouble getting off the snap and can no longer get to the corners on time

Letting Ritchie James walk was also a huge mistake

Richie James is so amazing that the Chiefs brought in Mecole Hardman who they cut, and then got cut by the Jets, because they were so desperate for any help at WR.  I doubt they have any regrets when it comes to Richie James who likely would have been cut in training camp on even the Giants roster.

[BluesCruz]

Richie James is so amazing that the Chiefs brought in Mecole Hardman who they cut, and then got cut by the Jets, because they were so desperate for any help at WR.  I doubt they have any regrets when it comes to Richie James who likely would have been cut in training camp on even the Giants roster.

I think Ritchie and Jones had a nice chemistry

[Jaime]

Our guy Daboll had ZERO NFL HC experience before he came to us.

[TDToomer]

Our guy Daboll had ZERO NFL HC experience before he came to us.

So does every head coach before they become head coach. What is your point? Keep hiring retread? Tell Bill Parcells no thanks back in 83?

[H-Town G-Fan]

Our guy Daboll had ZERO NFL HC experience before he came to us.

Shurmur had experience. Didn't make him good.

[DaveBrown74]

Shurmur had experience. Didn't make him good.

Yup, and Sean McVay had no experience as a HC when he took the Rams job. That doesn't seem to have been a problem.