LeSean McCoy: 'It's over' for Bill Belichick, Patriots without Tom Brady

Coming off a preseason during which their offense looked lackluster, at best, the New England Patriots opened the regular season with a 20-7 loss at the Miami Dolphins that did little to silence concerns previously voiced by fans and critics. 

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has famously earned six Super Bowl rings during his tenure but did so with future Hall of Famer Tom Brady as his quarterback. While Brady guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl LV victory in February 2021, Belichick hasn't yet been back to a championship game without the 45-year-old. 

Per Kevin Tame Jr. of FanNation's Patriots Country, former NFL running back and two-time Super Bowl champion LeSean McCoy made it clear during a recent appearance on Fox Sports' "Speak" program he doesn't believe Belichick will again hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy during his legendary career. 

"It’s over for Belichick. It’s over," McCoy remarked. "I’ve never seen the Patriots pay so many guys on defense at one time. They’re doing it now that Tom is gone. It’s over. This is the real Belichick. The winning percentage, playing with Brady, is 77 percent. Without Tom Brady, you wouldn’t even guess. 47 percent. He don’t win no games without Tom Brady.

"Since Tom Brady has left, they look so regular. Seriously though, when I watch the tape and I really watch them, they’re getting beat up front in the running game, defenders missing tackles - they look bad. They can’t do anything on offense. Every coach in the AFC, for all of these years, when they had Tom Brady, they’re saying the same thing I’m saying right now. Without Tom Brady, Belichick is a good coach. Stop with all of this he’s the greatest of all time. He’s not." 

According to Nick Goss of NBC Sports Boston, McCoy ended his comments by insisting that Brady, not Belichick, "is the greatest of all time."

Belichick's title hopes for this season certainly won't be helped by the fact that Patriots second-year quarterback and current starter Mac Jones seemingly isn't 100 percent heading into this Sunday's game at the 1-0 Pittsburgh Steelers. ESPN's Mike Reiss explained that Jones hurt his back during the loss to Miami and also was dealing with an illness as of Thursday.