The past eight months should have been hellish for Bill Belichick.
His New England Patriots were physically beaten down in the playoffs by the Tennessee Titans, suffering a loss that marked the end of the Tom Brady era. A few months later, Brady awkwardly departed in free agency under a cloud of ambiguity, then convinced tight end in Rob Gronkowski to join him in Tampa Bay.
By training camp, three of Belichick’s starting linebackers had vanished, with Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins signing with the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions respectively, and Dont’a Hightower taking a COVID-19 opt-out.