yeah, that;s the thing. Bill has had a bad stretch as GM here.... before that he was right up there with anyone else. He put together a 20 year run as constant title contenders... no GM has ever done that, most GMs even with all-time great QBs can't put together 7 years. He did it in a quiet not flashy way usually, but his roster work was one of the key points of the triangle with his coaching and Brady. I think people underestimate how hard and good what he did was and overestimate the success other GMs have.
Sure. Considering the current situation. Maybe I should have said trolling the many people who are saying he's a horrible GM.
I don't disagree, but I think it's unlikely Bill would agree to such a change.
He won't give up decision-making authority, but there are lots of ways short of that to shore up the personnel dept. It's not like Bill is traveling the country scouting these guys. He probably needs better information and analysis from a dept that's been hollowed out by departures. And he needs guys that will challenge his assumptions and persuade him, even if he's ultimately deciding which moves to make.
To our knowledge this is all already taking place. That’s not enough of a change to move the needle IMO.
I mean... is it? They have not added much to the personnel department recently, just promoted guys like Groh as the top guys leave. Bringing in some new voices would go a long way
If you want Bill to stay, I think that's the deal. If you want to empower a new GM, I think it's with a new HC. (Could work with Mayo, or an outside candidate.)
It’s not like the personnel department is shrinking. But I agree some new blood would be good. Just not sure how much of an impact that would have.
I disagree that he needs to be replaced as GM. The team has drafted relatively well. My plan would he as follows. This is predicated on my belied that even though Bill has the final say; he leans heavily on talent underneath him for input. We have never heard anyone say he acts as a dictator or doesn't receive input. From a coaching perspective, he hasn't lost the team.
Does DIII do much recruiting?
Yep. And the NIL stuff. (Although that's not really going to apply at a DIII school.) He would have loved coaching college football in the 1950s. Probably not now.
Strange that he would have sat on this info several weeks. If he's wrong that's also a pretty serious hit to his credibility covering the team. Buckle up.
In the old days maybe. Tomase was just quoted in the Red Sox forum. Man still has a job, albeit not covering football specifically. Hot takes and manufactured bullshit are not the death sentence that they once were.
I get that but BB holds famously holds grudges and I don't think the Krafts like having their pre-decision-making aired for public consumption. Although I suppose there's a version of this where Jonathan wants the story out there. (Doesn't seem like Robert's style.)
I'm sure as hell not saying that the divorce definitely isn't happening. I'm saying that Curran reporting this doesn't mean anything anymore, and that he's not out on some limb that'll cause blowback for him if it proves to be untrue.
I believe he (Tom Curran) said as much on his Patriots Talk podcast last week after the Steelers game. But it was said without a lot of drama or fanfare. He does seem to have his sources in Foxboro.
I didn't catch that but from what I've heard from him he's been careful to draw a line between his own speculation/opinion and reporting, and this is his first real foray into the latter on an actual decision on Bill's future. If he's wrong I think he can spin it to Johnny Public but it's going to be harder to walk back with Bill, the Krafts and his other team sources.
In DIII, the players are, in many cases, literally paying to play. I dont think there's a lot of recruiting. At least not of the type that he would probably hate.
My guess is they are citing Curran’s piece. This is how it works. A reporter puts something out for clicks. It gets picked up by other outlets as fact and they get clicks. And round and round we go.
Not too pleased with Kraft if this wasn't mutual. He should retire a Patriot...but maybe Kraft felt that way about Tom and held a grudge on how that went down. Not sure, but I hope this isn't true.
Curran could back off this at any moment, though he declined to in an WEEI interview from this afternoon. It’s a bit odd - and I could therefore buy into the idea this is a trial balloon - because he’s basically just formally doubling down on things he’s been suggesting or intimating for a month plus, especially around the time of the Germany trip. If you got this info back then…..why report it now? He doesn’t cite any more recent information. It’s possible he feels safer underlining it now/calling his shit because they’re no longer a threat to salvage the second half of the season with a big winning steak, too, but I can see the argument that he’s being used/allowing himself to be used.
Good chance the Krafts don’t even know what they’re doing yet.
