Christmas is here! That means it is time for our year end New England football naughty and nice list. We will pick five individuals affiliated with football in New England that made our nice list and our naughty list.
We are going to start with our nice list and then do the naughty list.
Nice
Jeff Hafley, HC, Boston College: Hafley went 6-5 in his first season at the helm of the Eagles. In the process, he changed the perception of the program. Hafley did a masterful job of guiding the program through the pandemic. The Eagles played all 11 of their regular season games and only had two positive COVID tests from June to November. On the field, the Eagles were much more competitive and the best example of this is the almost upset of Clemson. Off the field, Hafley and his staff have crushed it in recruiting, landing two four star recruits in the Class of 2021. Cornerback Clinton Burton and Guard Drew Kendall should make an immediate impact.
Hafley has been the nicest person by far in New England football this season.
Kyle Duggar, S, New England Patriots: The rookie safety out of Lenoir-Rhyne has been a pleasant surprise for the Patriots. Thrust into action due to Patrick Ching opting out, Duggar gained valuable experience as the third safety and is poised to play a big role on the Patriots defense moving forward.
Steve Dembowski, Head Coach, Milton High School: Dembowski has been the face of the MHSFCA plan to restructure high school football in Massachusetts. The Connecticut Plan as I call it is modeled after the same system the state of Connecticut uses. The plan has faced opposition from winter coaches and others because it would extend the football season a week. Despite the opposition, Dembowski has presented at countless meetings and has advocated tirelessly for high school football in Massachusetts.
Phil Jurkovec, QB, Boston College: The Notre Dame transfer took Boston College and the ACC by storm throwing for 2,558 yards, 17 touchdown passes and 5 interceptions. Jurkovec was an absolute man and with two years of eligibility left, he has the potential to develop into one of the top quarterbacks in the country.
High School Coaches: I cannot say enough about the job high school football coaches have done during the pandemic. From Zoom meetings, to scheduling socially distant and safe workouts, high school coaches have proven that they are amongst the hardest workers in any school district. They have been there for their kids throughout the pandemic in ways that cannot be measured.
Naughty
Bill Belichick, Head Coach, Patriots: The greatest coach in NFL history has had a tough year. First the Patriots choked away a game to end last regular season against the Dolphins that cost them a bye and home field in the playoffs. Then they lost in the wild card round to the Titans. After not offering Tom Brady a new contract, Brady left in free agency for Tampa Bay in March.
Belichick replaced Brady with Brian Hoyer, Jarrett Stidham and eventually Cam Newton but none of them have proven that they can start and be successful let alone replace Tom Brady. Belichick has a lot of work to do this off-season to get the Patriots back on track after missing the playoffs.
State of Massachusetts/MIAA: The MIAA made the decision not to play football in the fall. Instead, they decided on a Fall II season from the end of February to the end of April. At the time of the decision, the move made a lot of sense to people but in retrospect, it was a bad decision.
We could have played in the fall and while I guess hindsight is 20/20, there were way less cases and football was outside. Kicking the can down the road is a bad look right now and there is no guarantee that we will get a season now even with the vaccine.
Cam Newton, Patriots quarterback: Newton has done and said all the right things since his arrival in Foxboro but he is shot physically. He has struggled mightily in the passing game throwing only five touchdown passes in 14 games. Patriots fans thought they were getting a reinvigorated player capable of playing at the MVP level he displayed in 2015. He has been anything but that and now you wonder if he will even be in the league next season. I would be shocked if he were in a Patriots uniform in 2021.
Tom Brady, Buccaneers quarterback: Brady has had a tremendous season in Tampa throw for 4,234 yards and 36 touchdown passes. So why is he on the naughty list? Simple. He didn’t re–sign with the Patriots. Brady’s departure from the organization was a mutual parting but like most people, I felt he should have finished his career here. I believe Belichick wanted to move on but so did Brady. It wasn’t just the organization like the media tried to portray it. Brady wanted a change of scenery and to play with more talent. He got what he wanted. He is in the playoffs and the Patriots are not.
Walt Bell, HC, UMass: Look. Bell is a terrific recruiter and he’s improved the talent in the program. Now the product needs to improve on the field. UMass played four games in this abridged season and were only competitive in one of them. UMass needs to be more competitive next season or Bell will be firmly entrenched on the hot seat.