Bill Belichick’s stinging criticism of $4.6bn franchise looms over Patriots-Jags

Two of the worst teams in the NFL shared the same stadium in London.

A world away from Wembley, Bill Belichick was out of the league –and still looming over everything on the field on Sunday.

New England started 1-5 this season without Belichick, benching veteran Jacoby Brissett at quarterback and turning to rookie Drake Maye earlier than many expected.

Jacksonville was in even more of a football mess before kickoff.

A year removed from being Super Bowl contenders, the Jaguars had the promise of $1.4billion stadium renovation but lacked chemistry and cohesion as they returned to their second football home.

After being blown out 35-16 by Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears last Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Jacksonville was also 1-5 and held the second-worst point differential (minus-65) in the NFL.

With Jaguars owner Shad Khan already stating that he expected a winning team in 2024, head coach Doug Pederson had answered those expectations by losing five of six games and publicly questioning the team’s culture.

“We’ve got to change,” Pederson said. “I say we, it’s all of us — coaches, players, everybody. We’ve got to change right now that culture. Otherwise, it just gets out of control.”

That caught the eye of “Do Your Job” Belichick, who won six Super Bowls with the Patriots, but entered the 2024 campaign without a head coaching job.

Urban Meyer failed as Jacksonville’s previous coach, proving in 13 games he wasn’t NFL material.

Pederson has had two-plus seasons to fix and improve the Jaguars’ culture.

Entering Week 7 at Wembley, beating Belichick’s old team was set up a potential must-win for a head coach who could be fired with another London loss.

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“I’m not really sure what he meant by that,” Belichick said on the Let’s Go podcast.

“Maybe that’s a change in preparation or practice — I’m not really sure, but I’d like to know kind of what he has in mind there.

“It’s not his first year, and this is kind of what they’ve established, so I’m not really sure what that means.

“But clearly things aren’t going very well in Jacksonville with the Jaguars and they need to do something to be competitive here.”

With Trevor Lawrence receiving a massive $275million contract and becoming one of the highest-paid QBs in the NFL, the easiest change for the Jaguars is to find another head coach.

The Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders could also enter the offseason coaching market if their disappointing seasons continue.

Belichick’s criticism of the Jaguars’ “culture” was on target.

He also sounded like a six-time Super Bowl winner who knows that change at the top could be the best thing for Jacksonville.

The biggest question for Belichick will be whether he re-enters the coaching market and, if so, which team he believes he can best fix.

As Jacksonville played a home game in Wembley, it was clear that Belichick had an eye on the Jaguars.

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