The New England Patriots find themselves sitting at the bottom of the AFC Conference with a 2-6 record on the season. This has led to a number of questions surrounding legendary head coach Bill Belichick and his future with the team. And former NASCAR crew chief Steve Letarte offered some intriguing insight on whether he believes Belichick “still has it” as a head coach.
NASCAR and the NFL are obviously two incredibly different sports, so you may be wondering what Letarte knows about Belichick’s ability to coach the Patriots.
However, both Belichick and Letarte share one thing in common, as they were both at the highest level of their respective sports.
Letarte, a huge Patriots fan in his personal life, discussed Belichick’s future on the Awful Announcing podcast recently, where he spoke about when he knew that he didn’t have it anymore as a NASCAR crew chief.
“You know, you have to wonder if he has it,” said Letarte on Belichick. “I got to a point in my career where I didn’t have the energy necessary to do the job and I tapped out. I don’t know how Pete Carroll does it. He runs up and down the sideline at his age. This guy burns more calories chewing gum than I do, it’s unbelievable.
“I say that because it’s okay if he (Belichick) is not the guy. I hate to say it, but I think I would be ready for all new. I think you can’t hold on to the past. Everybody was great, but let’s start a new.”
Letarte also acknowledged that this rough season thus far is not solely on Belichick. In fact, he has plenty to say about starting quarterback Mac Jones, stating that he doesn’t believe Jones is the quarterback of the future in New England and that the rest of the team is also doing Jones no favors.
“Here’s what I would say,” Letarte added. “I’m not sure Mac Jones is magical. He’s not the next Tom Brady. But man, he doesn’t get a whole lot of help out there either. So I don’t think Mac Jones is the answer, but we better shore everything else up. Because if the new best guy to ever throw a football shows up, you better have something around him.”
Letarte will be on the call for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race from Phoenix Raceway Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. It is on NBA and also available via streaming on Peacock.
“Check out the Awful Announcing Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.”
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.