JuJu Smith-Schuster seemingly takes shot at Bill Belichick during Patriots OTAs: "The vibes are WAY better"
The New England Patriots have entered a new era. After more than two decades of Bill Belichick, the team is enjoying a new presence on the sidelines, with former linebacker Jerod Mayo taking over head coach duties - he played under Belichick and was even his assistant the year before.
However, the feeling around the franchise is totally different, if we're to believe some of the players. Belichick's hard coaching style is not a secret to anyone who has followed the NFL for a long time, and it worked when they were winning with Tom Brady on the roster; when you're losing and your coach follows a hard line, well, players aren't going to take it.
JuJu Smith-Schuster is one of the biggest examples there is: he has played under Mike Tomlin, who's a role model on how to treat your players, and Belichick as well. So it was interesting to hear what he said about the current feel around the locker room:
"Wait til you see the locker room. The vibes are way better."
Why did Bill Belichick leave the Patriots?
Belichick's second stint with the franchise (the first took place in 1996, still as an assistant to Bill Parcells) brought a level of success that would never have been imagined. Hired in 2000 after his famous "dismissal" as coach of the New York Jets, the head coach created an immensely successful partnership with quarterback Tom Brady, who led the team on the field between 2001 and 2019.
Together, the two drove the most successful dynasty in league history, totaling six rings, nine Super Bowl appearances and 17 division titles.
Belichick's departure happened after a string of turbulent Patriots seasons under the historic coach. After Brady's departure in 2020, the Patriots only made one playoff appearance out of four opportunities. The lack of offensive production weighed heavily in the last two years, especially with the strong regression of Mac Jones and the controversies surrounding the coach's coaching staff.
The relationship between Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick, once excellent, was also the subject of controversy in recent years. Although there are no public reports of a fight, comments made to the press in recent years have left the impression that something wasn't right in Foxborough. With four years of unsatisfactory results for a team accustomed to success, the owner decided in January that the franchise should follow another path.