With the news that Greg Schiano is stepping away from the Patriots, the job of defensive coordinator is once again vacant. With the 2019 season inching closer by the day, it's possible that Bill Belichick will once again call the team's defense.
That begs the question—how have the Patriots fared in the past with Belichick calling the shots?
Belichick has been the Patriots head coach since 2000. During that time, Romeo Crennel was the Patriots defensive coordinator from 2001 to 2004, as well as Eric Mangini in 2005, Dean Pees from 2006 to 2009, Matt Patricia from 2012 to 2017, and Brian Flores (not named, but de facto) in 2018.
This means that Belichick called the shots on New England's defense in three seasons—2000, 2010, and 2011.
The Patriots in those three seasons had a record of 5-11, 14-2, and 13-3 respectively.
It must be noted that the 2000 season, while Tom Brady was on the roster, was still part of the Drew Bledsoe era, and was Belichick's inaugural season, before the dynasty began in 2001.
In 2000, the Patriots defense was ranked 20th in the league in yards per game, and 17th in the league in points allowed.
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In 2010, the Patriots defense was ranked 25th in the league in yards per game, but 8th in the league in points allowed.
In 2011, the Patriots defense was ranked 2nd in the league in yards per game, and 15th in the league in points allowed.
The Patriots were upset by the New York Jets in the divisional round of the playoffs in 2010, which is also the last time the Pats did not make it to the AFC Championship Game, as they have in every season since.
In 2011, perhaps one of Belichick's best coaching jobs given the apparent lack of talent on his defense (Julian Edelman played defensive back at one point), made it to Super Bowl XLVI, where the team lost a close game (once again) to the New York Giants.
In all, there does not seem to be a strong correlation between the performance of the Patriots' defense and Belichick calling plays. Some of the Patriots best defenses (early 2000s, 2018) came with different defensive coordinators, and one (Flores in 2018) who did not actually have the title.
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