Where Will Bill Belichick Coach in 2025 & Patriots Talk w/ Phil Perry, NBC Sports Boston

it's a new chapter for the New England Patriots a new head coach a new quarterback and I speak about all of it with Phil Perry from NBC Sports Boston in this episode of Iggy Sports St welcome back into Iggy Sports Talk I your host Jak nus igy for short I want to thank you so much for tuning into this episode but football is finally back and there's a new chapter on the horizon in New England for the Patriots with Bill balich out M Jones out and Gerard May the new head coach and Drake May potentially the new starting quarterback there's a lot of things to be excited about with the Patriots this upcoming season and I brought on NBC Sports Boston Patriot reporter Phil Perry to speak about everything like who will be the starting quarterback in week one what is the new Vibe look like with Gerard Mayo at the HM and also we predict where Bill bich could potentially coach next season now let's get my conversation with Phil so how we doing today Phil it's it's great having you on it's a new chapter in New England new head coach new regime new quarterback maybe too but how have you been doing yeah Jake thanks for asking man it's um it's been a fun summer tracking this team and and this regime and how they handled things and all the differences between what we were used to for so long um and and how they're doing things now this is my I think my 12th Camp um so it's it's it's been a long time getting used to things a certain way um and so some things have been different other things have been similar other things have been different in a way that I didn't expect you know I think gerod Mayo's um had an interesting camp in that on the one hand while he is I think in some ways a players coach um he's been a little bit tougher than than a lot of people expected on the players during Camp myself included um so anyway that's just one example of all the the changes happening now and um how they're sort of keeping us on our toes of there so I mean we've seen the vibe change a little bit just from like what we've been hearing on the outside in terms of mayo obviously with Bill it was all business all the time and we heard from you know Brady and grank after their careers that it was sort of like a mil military type feeling but especially when Mayo first got in the building you know we heard of you know basketball hoops going in some of the meeting rooms in the locker room trying to add more competition and maybe a little bit less of that like military type structure so in terms of those you know differences or maybe some of the same things that you've seen how was sort of the vibe maybe different from what we saw from bill for 20 years yeah it's it's been really interesting because on the one hand you have seen like those types of things that you described there's a players's lounge where they've got you know an Xbox and a PlayStation and bean bag chairs and you just an area for guys to relax and feel somewhat at home but still be at the facility that was important I know to Gerard Mayo to make sure that that was in there um you know he's been very open about how he wants to handle personal relationships with players he wants them to know know that he cares about them before really getting into the nitty-gritty of coaching and um not only them but their families and so you know that that matters to him and I I know the one of the reasons he feels that way is because you know for for today's player that means more to them than it did even when he was coming into the league and then once you get some Buy in from those players by showing them that you care in that way then you can push them hard and that's been the surprising part to me so we knew he was going to try to develop these relationships with players the way the way he had really as a defensive assistant right he's got an advantage in that he has a built-in relationship with a lot of these guys already and a lot of them are already bought in to who he is as a coach and they'll already run through a wall for him but he's got to get the whole team bought into this whole idea and I think he feels as though he's started to do that because Jake training camp this year has been objectively I would say harder on players physically than maybe any that I've covered and I say that hesitantly because we know Bill bich and we know his reputation and he drives players hard there's no doubt about it and the conditioning on the back hill that was a bill thing and you know was one of the reasons why I remember writing about this and then later that year they end up in the Super Bowl and they credited the hill for being able to come back against the Falcons and play basically 100 plays offensively because they felt like they wore the Falcons down and their conditioning was better they're still doing that stuff and not only are they still doing the bill stuff but they're doing more they they had a stretch of really I would say hot practices and remember the practices were pushed back in terms of the time so it wasn't like a 9:00 am start time to practice now it was 11: am and going through the middle of the day two hours and it was at times you know heat index of about a hundred with the humidity and they still did I believe there was a stretch where they did seven of eight practices in full pads and not only did they do that but they did something I hadn't seen Bill bich do in maybe 10 years which is tackle to the ground which sounds like football it doesn't sound like the biggest deal in the world um but that was not happening in New England maybe at the goal line occasionally would Bill belich have you know ball carries actually taken to the ground but they were doing this out in the middle of the field and it led to some big hits some important players taking big hits you know you could argue not maybe the smartest thing in the world but inarguably a more physical camp in my opinion and so little things like that would suggest okay he's yeah he might be a players coach in some ways but in other ways um that title is Not Really Gonna fit he he's gonna push them uh in some ways as hard as they were pushed under Bill bich and you know I I think you would agree with this that it definitely helped in terms of the transition that he was already already there kind of like you mentioned like these players already like know who he is rather than somebody just coming in you know you know changing things up kind of like you're mentioning that he is and being like who the heck is this guy to like you know change all this stuff but I mean the thing that came into my mind especially with the recent uh trade of judon is sort of that leadership uh within the locker room and you know obviously new coaches and and sort of a new type of feeling around the team uh who have you seen in Camp so far kind of take that leadership charge especially now with judon out yeah um it's interesting you know I think judon was a leader in his own way um he hadn't been a captain but he was one of these guys who was willing to help younger players that younger players looked up to because he had had a good career and you know that's for a lot of guys who are hoping to set their families up with generational wealth and have great careers like you don't have to be a quote unquote leader or a captain you like if you've had a good career you are a deao leader like it or not and um that was sort of judon I think and with him gone you know I would still expect guys like Jonathan Jones like let's just talk about the defensive side of things um Jonathan Jones in the secondary Kyle Dugger in the secondary uh Jan Bentley really overall for the defense I would say is the leader for the defense uh you know when they were doing the other day I know closely been following practice but uh they did their little slip and slide ball security drill the other day where they hose down the field it's all muddy it's all wet it it actually just rained too so it was really sof you know uh like soupy weak conditions out there MH and um the two guys holding the hoses the two veterans holding the hoses as these rookies and seconde players and first year coaches Mayo included went through this and had to dive on top of these footballs um two guys holding the hoses were David Andrews and Jawan Bentley which I think tells you where Bentley sits just in terms of the hierarchy defensively um leadership wise so um Dietrich wise I would say Upfront for those guys has been a leader um Devon Goda too so it's not a lot of change honestly on that and you know I think what they're really lacking with judon going is Blue Chip veteran Talent you know because now not only is Jud judon gone but Christian barmore is dealing with blood clots and so um you know if you're looking for certain players to make big plays and key moments it's gonna have to come from guys who haven't done a lot of that over the course of their careers um you know maybe it's a Keon white who gets more opportunities with judon gone you know maybe it's um somebody like oane zimus who is a free agent ad played five years with the Giants and has had a really good camp he's been banged up lately but has played well and I think he's going to get some opportunities this year to get after the quarterback so they're they're just going to need it to be sort of a joint group effort to pick up the slack with judon gone that makes sense and you know we're mainly talking about the leadership on the field but I also think it helps with with guys like Dante Hightower now being a coach as well as you know Matthew Slater who who were both big leaders in the locker room you know for the past like five to 10 years and curious how you've seen some of both those guys sort of transition into those coaching roles yeah I think those guys will really help the young players especially figure out what it means to be a pro when I you know when I look at those two names that you mentioned those are ultimate Pros I mean love football but also understand that this is a job and that you have to constantly be trying to improve and so you nobody was in the gym more than Matthew Slater nobody getting worked on more especially later in his career the Matthew Slater just to make sure he could maintain the way he needed to I think about high tower and all the injuries he had to come back from and still was able to when healthy play and get better as the year went on and and had his best games in Super Bowls you know so like that to me is that's about being a professional and understanding you know what it takes and so um those guys would be the first to tell you that the players are really the ones who have to be the leaders in the locker room it can't be up to them but they'll provide a daily reminder um not only through their coaching but just their presence and with those players understanding who they were as players a reminder of how to do things the right way and that could pay huge dividends especially for the young guys down the line yeah I completely agree and honestly I don't remember sort of having as many former players who you know with high tower and Slater who aren't that far removed from being on the field really around such a young team like the Patriots and I think that's what's cool about this new Vibe is having all those younger players who have that you know not only player relationship but understand where those players were uh in their exact shoes but you know also looking as well as you know like a guy named jacobe brassette who's you know been a leader throughout his career and you know we I always go back to him with the Browns sort of filling in for Deshaun Watson and really bring that whole Walker room together but how have you really seen him a leader and and really have him help out the rookies like Drake May or Joe Milton yeah we see it every day I mean he's talking to these guys in between series um you know especially the two young quarterbacks uh but even with Bailey's happy you see them with sort of you know playful competitions before the practice really gets started in Earnest and they're they're going through their positional drills um you know they are they're trying to beat each other and that to me is a form of leadership you know being competitive and and wanting to win in those spots you know I think um is a is a way of being competitive and showing your leadership without overdoing it right he's he's not shutting these guys out which I think is key I think it's one of the reasons he's here they knew they were gonna they didn't know it was gonna be Drake may but they knew they're gonna have a Young quarterback in house that was going to need some time to develop and jacobe Brett's been described to me as a guy with almost no ego and to have the experience that he has and the willingness to um share what he knows with the other guys in that room that's hugely hugely valuable I mean we've seen him not only coach up the quarterbacks but you know there have been periods of practice Jake where he's taking the quarterbacks the receivers and the tight ends and they're down near the goal line and he's showing them the details of of Route running and how he want certain routes to be run or how in this system which he knows well haven't spent time with Alex Vel before how they're expected to run their routes and the the little important details that happened down there in the red zone now didn't help anybody when he threw a pick in the Red Zone the other day in that preseason game against the Eagles but it just goes to show to have you know almost 20 guys there hanging on his every word as he's basically coaching them on the field in the middle of a practice what kind of respect he has and and that has been a net positive there's no question about it one interesting aspect of brassette and his leadership has been that you have seen a lot of players sort of defer to him which makes sense right he he gets every first team rep in practice he's looking like the starting quarterback he's a veteran he knows how to run this off he's helping teach guys this offense I think when it comes to Drake May one of the things the coaching staff wants to see and has seen more of Lately from the rookie is a little more assertiveness in terms of attack this like it's a competition attack it like it's your job like you want the job you know it's hard he's 21 years old he's still learning he doesn't want to be telling people what to do before he even knows how to do things himself um so I think he's approached it the right way but there is a fine line between knowing your place as a rookie and also understanding you're the face of the franchise and this is going to be your job you know if not in the very not in the immediate future in the relatively not too distant future yeah and so you've got to be able to show guys that you know you want this team to be yours you don't want to step on Jacob's toes but push him a little bit put the pressure on him to make sure that that he is better than you um and I think we've seen a little bit more of that a little more confidence a little more assertiveness not quite as much difference in the last week and a half or so from Drake may you you brought up the starting quarterback conversation and you know as most head coaches do around this time they're they're not going to sort of show their cards and that's kind of what we've seen D Mayo do so fares and you know I'll let you guys know when I know the starting quarterback but I think in most people's mind when when Drake was ultimately drafted at least in my mind especially with brassette already on the roster I thought they were probably going to go the Mahomes route of have him sit for majority of the Season sort of develop learn from brette and we we sort of heard at times a little bit of a different tone uh throughout training camp about maybe going that route I'm curious you know how you think it'll all shake out for week one and let's say may doesn't start week one could you see him potentially start this season and maybe what week I could definitely see him starting this season I think it be sooner rather than later if things continue on the trajectory they've been on again last two weeks or so because it hasn't just been that Drake May looks more assertive more decisive in the pocket more confident in terms of understanding his reads and where to go with the football when he was really when it was feeling like he was pretty up and down dayto day early in Camp there was just a lot of indecision behind C there was a lot of pumping of the football and last second he'd squeeze it and hold on to it and try to find another player but then the timing of the play would all be screwy and uh he might end up making a bad play you're not really seeing that anymore uh which is a great thing for the Patriots and if that continues if if he's able to to maintain this trajectory it's gonna be hard to keep him off the field because physically already he's a better quarterback than jacobe brassette he's more mobile he's more explosive in the pocket so when there are muddy Pockets I think he's going to have a better chance to navigate those um his arms better he's he's got a better ability to throw off platform Jake so you know we the offensive line looks like it could have another rough year this year these guys are going to be under pressure and to me there there's no question which quarterback is g to be better able to make something out of nothing between these two and it's Drake May and so if you're gerod mayo and you've been saying very consistently hey this is a competition the better player is going to play it's not about the situation it's not about the offensive line being ready for a rookie quarterback it's not about the receiver it's not about anything else we're looking at all these positions best player plays and that's the culture and that's the standard they want to set if that's the case I could see Drake May starting maybe not week one unless Jobe Bret really has sort of a disastrous week here leading up to the final preseason game and and then maybe even a disastrous preseason game and that's worst case scenario for the Patriots I think in their heart of hearts they they want to and expect but really want jacobe Brett to take the job and be good enough that there is no question in anybody's mind he should be the starter um but it would not surprise me if in practice we get to a point Midway through the season maybe even not quite that far maybe it's week five week six and everybody knows right that that's where you that's where your hand gets forced as a coaching staff or as a front office once everybody knows players included who the best player is then you kind of have to go with him because the other players on the R jabril peppers do you think jabril Peppers cares about Drake May's long-term development or Devon Goda or dietr wise like no these guys are out there they want to be put in the best possible situation to make themselves look their best and they want to try to win games and that means getting the most important position on the field taken care of meaning the best player at that position needs to play so if it becomes clear and obvious in practice that hey the guy who's actually running the scout team is better better than the guy who's running our starting offense then you have to make the switch and it wouldn't stun me if based on some combination of Drake May's performance and practice and jacobe versets play in regular season games if a month or so into the season we see Drake may as the starter yeah and I I wouldn't be surprised with that either and it's interesting because we saw a similar sort of development happen you know just three or four years ago with with M Jones and Cam Newton and even those are those are two completely different players and you know there there's some different coaches right now with the Patriots do you think that maybe they're looking at that situation a tiny bit how it all played out and maybe trying to be a little bit of a swifter transition for May from college to the NFL you know I I don't know how much they're using the M Jones example just because that he was coming from a more um polished offensive system which made his transition easier he was probably more Pro ready obviously he didn't have the physical skills that Drake may had but he was probably more Pro ready just in terms of his mechanics and his reads and his understanding of of defenses coming from the SEC and so and the coaching that he got so it was a little bit different and I would also say this like M Jones it became clear quickly I would say first signs were in the spring that if the Patriots wanted to pass the football and we know what kind of League it is now where it's a Passing League it's a quarterback driven league but if that's what the Patriots wanted to do M Jones was going to give them the best opportunity to succeed in those situations if they want to do the quarterback run game thing obviously Cam Newton's the guy right if if that's the kind of team you want to be but they made the The Prudent decision um to go with the guy who was far in away the better passer almost as soon as he got to Foxboro um now the what I would say is this when you're comparing the situation that's interesting to me is ma Jones really wasn't given the starting job until Cam Newton started to miss time he had to miss time because uh of covid protocols essentially and was forced to stay away from the facility and that allowed M Jones to get all the first team reps whereas before he they had been sort of splitting and mixing and matching he got them all and he played well and that's when everybody realized that he should be the guy and here this year Drake May really hasn't gotten any first team reps a couple of quick ones on Saturday but it was in a practice period that was really a walkthr so those were his first snaps from David Andrews in any practice this summer and that's an indication of the okay the first team offensive line is out there they're mixing and matching at some other positions but as long as Andrews is out there you know that's the first team so he hasn't really had that opportunity that that um M Jones had if he did Jake If he if he was playing behind the first team offensive line they were somehow splitting those all summer I wouldn't be shocked if we're all sitting here right now saying Drake May should be the week one starting quarterback because the the second line has been so bad that it's been hard to even get a gauge of what kind of player Drake May is at times he can't you know the the the ball's being snapped down around his ankles he has to pick that throws off the timing of the play he has to find it pick it up start to survey the field within a half second there's somebody in his face because they blew a block up front they didn't even try to block the guy he just came through untouched you know there were so many reps like that that he just had days of practice to me that felt wasted almost because the line couldn't protect for him so um maybe as we go through this last week of the the summer and we get into the regular season you know it's hard to get starter Reps for anybody other than the starter but if they're able to somehow do that maybe it's in this preseason game maybe maybe you give him enough reps with that first team offensive line in this game and if he looks great you know maybe that's that's enough to get a little bit of movement on the depth chart I'm just I'm not I'm not necessarily anticipating that'll be the case right now that makes sense we we know the fans would love that we we we heard the cheers when he when he first came out and everything like that and you get to see the Glimpse the of the future but um you know speaking about that M Jones and and Cam Newton situation the guy who made that decision last thing for is you know Bill bich you know Ju Just part of ways with the Patriots now doing kind of like every single media thing under the sun uh this season but Tom paliso did say that he is interested in coaching next season and you know we we are at the beginning of the Season we don't know sort of how these teams and these records are going to kind of shake out at the end of it but where could you potentially see Bill bich land at the beginning of of next season you know in my mind you know some of the ones Cowboys Jets Giants something like that but where do you think yeah you mentioned two teams there from the NFC East I'll mention a third in the Philadelphia Eagles and those teams to me and their current head coaches need to watch out for Bill bich that's what I would say if I had to sort of forecast where he might end up next year all three of those teams have expectations coming on them from ownership right now and only one of them can win the division right so maybe you assume that that person is safe and then maybe even there's a a wild card team in there that ends up having a pretty good record and maybe that coach is safe too although I would say for a team like the eagles if they end up as a a wild card at nine and seven or something in they're a first round exit that's that's a change I could totally see them making yeah all three of those teams are not going to have the same head coach next year I think all three would be attractive spots for Bill belich to land for different reasons Dallas and Philly because of the rosters and you know that those are those are um well thought of franchises and those are um management groups I would say that belich could work with you know he's he's been on the record saying he gets along with the Jones family just fine um you know in terms of the Eagles like hoe Roseman we we know runs the football operation there we know they have a good relationship Roseman and bich too would Eagles ownership want bill bich that I don't know um the Giants though to me because they're most likely to not have a great record um and most likely to be needing a new coach next year even though I think Brian dall's a good coach I just think that's a that's a that's a rough situation talent-wise that he's got to deal with that right now that to me feels like the best chance for bellich to find a team that he likes and an area that he likes for an organization that he has professed his love for in the past um you know to be able to sort of rekindle that Giants bich thing to finish off his career and maybe he has the green light to go you know if they have a high-end pick next year maybe you start you're starting over with a new quarterback but maybe he feels like there's enough Talent some of those other spots especially in the defensive line it feels like that boy that thing is tailor made for Bill belck they have some real talent up front the Giants do um I get if I had to pick one team I I think my team would be the Giants but I would say any of those three NFC east teams would have to be in play yeah it's it's going to be really fun to see where the cut off sleeves ultimately ends up and and you know where he's able to you know get that wins record for head coaches but really appreciate you coming on Phil you know thank you so much for for taking the time and giving your Insight and you know for anybody that wants to you know check out your stuff or you know check out your podcast at NBC Sports Boston where can they find all that yeah you can find all of my work really um on Twitter or X Phil a Perry um Patriots Talk podcast next Talk podcast wherever you get your podcast and um we'll have Patriots coverage for you every single night uh not only an early edition in Boston sports tonight but um our our football shows are about to kick off which we're really excited about so um you know we'll have the breakdown again this year with myself and Ted Johnson every Monday looking at the biggest plays from the previous weekend's game but you know quick slance is back again this year uh we're going to have some new football uh voices which I'm really excited uh for people to hear from so it's going to be a fun year over at NBC Sports Boston awesome can't wait to tune in and football's finally back let's go I hope that you did enjoy my conversation with Phil and you're really excited for this upcoming Patriot season now they may not have the best record but there's a lot of things to be looking forward to with this team I think it's really interesting with all the former players who are now on the coaching staff being able to give that sort of vibe of understanding what those players players on the field are going through because they've been there before and a lot of these guys like Gerard Mayo Matthew Slater and Dante Hightower were really successful with new New England and they understand what it means to win so it would be really interesting to see how the whole team sort of shakes out as well as what happens at the quarterback Position will we see jacobe brassette start for week one or will it be Drake May and if it isn't May when will he ultimately start this season but I hope that you got a lot of your questions answered regarding the team with my conversation with and if you want to keep up to date with everything surrounding Sports as well as hear interesting Sports stories from people who are speaking about the deeper aspects of sports make sure to follow Iggy Sports Talk over on Instagram Iggy Sports Talk and if you want to be notified with any episode that comes out on YouTube or whatever audio platform that you normally listen to like apple podcast or Google podcast or even Spotify make sure to subscribe over there but I greatly appreciate you tuning in I'll see you and talk to you next time peace