For 24 NFL seasons, Bill Belichick guided the New England Patriots to nine Super Bowls, winning six titles.
After the 2023 season ended, Belichick and the Patriots parted ways. After Jerod Mayo had been named as Belichick’s successor before the 2023 season kicked off.
Mayo lasted one year, going 4-13 in 2024.
Mike Vrabel is the Patriots head coach this year.
Reportedly, Belichick refused to speak to Mayo, his linebackers coach in 2023, for the rest of his time in New England. He appears to have no love lost for owner Robert Kraft.
Nor any for Kraft’s son, Jonathan, either.
Belichick, who is now the head coach at North Carolina, said one of the perks of his new job is “there’s no owner, there’s no owner’s son.”
It also appears both sides have banned each other from their respective facilities.
Cowboys fans will no doubt get a 1994 vibe from this story. After all, they watched a similar beef explode between Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones.
Johnson had just delivered back-to-back Super Bowl wins.
Jones delivered a snarky broadside about how “any one of 500 coaches could win with this team” and the divorce was on.
You’d think championships delivered would buy a little peace. Apparently this isn’t the case in the NFL.
Spittin’ Mad, Bro?
Is this some new trend someone forgot to tell me about?
Within 48 hours, we saw Jalen Carter get tossed out of the Cowboys-Eagles game before the first snap of the game for spitting on Dak Prescott.
Then, on Saturday, Florida’s defensive lineman Brendan Bett decided to punctuate a tackle at the line of scrimmage by spitting on an opponent. It resulted in a 15-yard penalty and his ejection.
It also sparked a game-winning drive as South Florida upset the Gators, 18-16.
The loss may cost Florida head coach Billy Napier his job. It should cost Bett his spot on the team.
In Carter’s case, his bone-headed move didn’t cost his team a win.
And it appears it won’t cost him anymore missed games either, as an NFL spokesman has said a suspension is unlikely. A final decision will be made later today.
Apparently, sportsmanship isn’t a class they teach at any level of sports anymore. Even the fans are getting out of control.
Although one wonders about how the NFL handles ejecting players in 2025.
Spit on a player and you’re outta here!
Slap a player in the head with an open palm, as Chargers defensive lineman Teair Tart did to Travis Kelce on Friday night?
Nah, bro, we good, you can stay in the game and keep playing.
One hopes the Phillies Karen does get banned from every stadium in the country after her stunt at a Phillies-Marlins baseball game last week.
Somebody needs to start being held accountable for uncouth behavior.
Parsons Tracker
The Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers game on Sunday was already a must-watch. Then the Packers went and landed Micah Parsons from the Cowboys.
Parson, in limited action, collected his first sack as a Packer late in the game.
https://twitter.com/brgridiron/status/1964825484660986013He finished with the sack and one solo tackle on his scoreline in Green Bay’s 27-13 win over the Lions.
But his impact was felt more in Detroit having to account for him. That opened the door for the rest of the defensive line to pressure Jared Goff.
Seeing how Dallas had to resort to blitzing to finally get pressure on Jalen Hurts, it looks like the Cowboys are really going to miss Parsons.
Free Redzone
After a great furor over the announcement that NFL Redzone would air commercials during games for the first time since it launched in 2009, it looks like the commercial intrusion was at a minimum.
Was it because of the outrage and the league decided to throttle back on the plan? Or was this the plan all along?
We may never know.
When they did run, at least it was a split box with minimal game action missed.
If the commercials are kept at this level for the rest of the year, the kerfuffle will quickly fade.
Still, it was sad to see the end of “seven hours of commercial free football” on Sunday. We’ll have to see how many subscribers the move ultimately costs Redzone in 2025.
