7 candidates to replace Bill Belichick, including former Patriot linebackers Jerod Mayo and Mike Vrabel

For the first time in 24 years, the New England Patriots are in the market for a head coach.

On Thursday, days after the worst season of his New England tenure skidded to a thud and a 4-13 record, reports broke that Bill Belichick and the Patriots would part ways. It’s the end of a long and prosperous run that took a franchise that had been the northeast’s analog to the Cleveland Browns and turned it into one of the game’s most fearsome opponents.

Belichick won six Super Bowls with the team. From 2011 to 2018 the AFC title game didn’t get played without him. He helped turn Tom Brady from the 199th overall pick to the game’s greatest quarterback.

Now someone has to follow that up.

New England can offer an owner, Robert Kraft, who has proven to be a supportive winner. It ha a defense still capable of being one of the league’s best. And the Patriots possess an offense that sure does have a bunch of players on it, yes sir.

The first priority for whomever winds up following this legend will be finding a solution to a quarterback problem that’s plagued the team since Brady departed for Tampa. That won’t be all, as the team’s four wins in 2023 attest.

Who will be the top candidates to take on this challenge? Let’s start with the most likely choices.