The 2023 NFL season has caused plenty of doubts about who was the most responsible for the success of the New England Patriots during a 20-year stretch with six championships.
Under Bill Belichick, New England sits at 2-6 in an unusually subpar campaign. Additionally, another former assistant of Belichick crashed as a head coach when the Las Vegas Raiders fired Josh McDaniels.
After two losing stints as a head coach with the Raiders and the Denver Broncos, McDaniels stays in a group with former assistants in Matt Patricia, Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini and others who have failed to find success leading a team.
FS1’s Colin Cowherd reflected on that going trend of former Patriots coaches.
“Patriots South, that didn’t work,” Cowherd said on Wednesday’s episode of “The Herd” on FS1. “Patriots Detroit with Matt Patricia, that didn’t work. Patriots Miami with Brian Flores, that didn’t work. In fact, they went the opposite way when he left. Patriots West in the desert with the Raiders didn’t work.”
With the poor showings this season from the Patriots and the Raiders, Cowherd is as conviced as ever that the legendary quarterback made everything work in New England.
“Anybody think Tom Brady was the reason it worked?” Cowherd asked. “Tom Brady was the rare superstar. He didn’t get enough credit. New England and (Bill) Belichick are now a shell of themselves. … Let’s put the Patriot way to bed. It was the Tom Brady way.”
It’s true that the Patriots have mightily struggled for the better part of four seasons since Brady ended his tenure in New England. However, those championship years were certainly collaborative. It’s what makes the Patriots’ dynasty so hard to replicate for all of the teams that have tried to rebuild it with individual pieces through ex-New England players and coaches.
“The idea that the Patriot Way was some sort of mysterious, covered secret formula, no, that was Brady,” Cowherd said.
With just five combined wins this season, the two teams will try to get back on track in Week 9 when the Patriots host the Washington Commanders while the Raiders welcome the New York Giants.
