It's no secret that the New England Patriots have have their fair share of struggles since losing Tom Brady following the 2019 season. 

And much of that has been caused by the lack of preparedness with numerous changes shaking up the team in recent years, with one NFL Insider explain how Bill Belichick is to blame for much of this. 

“He’s on the hot seat, and he’s been there on different levels of warmth since 2019,” NBC Sports Boston's Tom Curran told The Rich Eisen Show on Monday.

After Brady left, the Patriots signed former NFL MVP Cam Newton, who was named the starting quarterback before the beginning of the 2020 season. They finished with a 7-9 record, placing third in the AFC East. 

He was re-signed by the Patriots prior to the start of the 2021 season and was set to compete against rookie first-round draft pick Mac Jones. However, it was Jones who won out on the starting spot, with Newton released from the team during final roster cuts. 

Jones went on to have an impressive rookie season, finishing with 352 completions for 3,801 yards and 22 interceptions under the direction of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. He helped lead the Patriots to the playoffs, and despite losing in the first round, it was a good start for the young quarterback. 

Yet, the unpreparedness showed itself once again after McDaniels left after the 2021 season to become head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. The Patriots were now without their longtime offensive coordinator, with no idea of who could take his place. 

And instead of naming someone, Belichick elected to go with Matt Patricia, who returned to New England after an unsuccessful stint as head coach of the Detroit Lions, along with Joe Judge, who was also unable to succeed at his head coaching position with the New York Giants.

With them, Jones took a serous decline in his second year, leaving many to question Belichick.  

“Kraft has already started walking back the demand for a playoff win. You can sense it in him saying, ‘I expect us to be a good team this year, but our schedule is something else,’” Curran said. "You can’t be situationally stupid. You can’t have a quarterback who is so disgusted on a regular basis that he’s gesturing towards the sidelines in disgust. You can’t seem as if you have no clue. You can’t be one of the worst teams in the red zone or on third down. All those things can’t happen. 

"If they look disorganized, dysfunctional and discipline is out the window, then they might say, ‘That was a great run, but can you go upstairs and just watch Jerod (Mayo) coach next year?,” Curran added. 

So it appears that it is truly a make or break season for not only Jones, but also for Belichick. 

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