It is a new year which means it is time to make some resolutions. Here are ten New England football resolutions for 2025.
1. Changes with the Patriots: The Patriots have to make changes, whether it is at the top or with assistants and the front office. If the plan is to retain Jerod Mayo, then there needs to be changes around him otherwise they need to move on from Mayo and start over.
2. Patriots spend in free agency: The Patriots are projected to have north of $130 million in cap space. Spend it! PERIOD! If you need to overpay free agents, so be it. If the Kraft family is serious about being competitive, then they need to loosen the purse strings, not tighten them.
3. A UMass turnaround: It was hard to watch things play out the way they did with Don Brown because we have so much respect for him. The hiring of Joe Harasymiak is a new opportunity for UMass to turn things around and become more competitive in football. Harasymiak is a good coach and a terrific recruiter. He will put together a good staff and put the necessary talent in place to be competitive in year one in the MAC.
4. Boston College building off of year one of Bill O’Brien: Boston went 7-6 in Bill O’Brien’s first season and while that may not be enough wins for some Eagles fans, the program took meaningful strides this season. The staff has recruited well and there is some legitimate momentum heading into spring ball and the 2025 season. Losing a bowl game is tough but the extra practices and playing the younger players has set up Boston College for future success.
5. UConn get into a conference: Coming off of a 9-4 season and a Fenway Bowl win, UConn Football has a lot of momentum right now. Hopefully that momentum means that they will end up in a conference this year. UConn is an attractive athletic department. It is time to make the move to the Big 12. UConn Football is ready to play on a bigger stage and we all know what the hoops programs would bring to the Big 12 from a cache standpoint. Jim Mora has built one heck of a program. It is time to play for something more.
6. More than one Ivy League team in the FCS playoffs: The Ivy League will finally be playing in the FCS playoffs this year. I am being greedy here but I hope the league gets more than one team in the 24 team field. I want the rest of the country to see just how good Ivy League football is.
7. UNH, URI, Maine or Bryant win the CAA outright: URI got a piece of the CAA this season but I want an outright champion in 2025. The Rams have a good shot at it again next season as does UNH after making the playoffs this past season. Winning a CAA title outright however would be one hell of an accomplishment for any of these schools. It could happen, especially with Delaware now out of the conference.
8. LaSalle Academy hires a good coach: Geoff Marcone retired after almost 25 years at the helm of the LaSalle Academy Football program. He won three state titles and made numerous state title game appearances. Replacing him will not be easy. I am sure there will be several qualified candidates. Here’s to hoping LaSalle hires someone who can do the job the way Geoff did. With class and dignity.
9. Even more interstate match ups in New England: We saw our fair share of regional match-ups this past season but I want even more. Give me more Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire games but I also want some Massachusetts and Connecticut games as well. These games are measuring stick games. The more we have, the better.
10. NEPSAC vs. Catholic Conference games: These games are not going to happen and this resolution will probably appear on the list again next year. It is wishful thinking but we need to get some NEPSAC, Catholic Conference games on the high school schedule. Imagine Tabor Academy vs. CM or Xaverian vs. BB&N or Phillips Exeter vs. St. John’s Prep? They would be amazing games. The coaches at these schools need to get together and make it happen at some point.