We often tell people there is no offseason with New England Football Journal, but even we can’t believe how much has already happened in the last four weeks or so.

We’re 31 days into 2024 and things have completely turned upside down.

First, Holy Cross head coach Bob Chesney leaves after an incredible run with the program, winning five straight Patriot League titles and restoring the pride back in the Crusaders’ program before leaving for James Madison. Not only did he restore HC’s rich history and high expectations, he made the program a national brand regularly ranked in the FCS Top 25.

Then, Dan Curran leaves Merrimack after a decade less than a week later to replace Chesney, completing a childhood dream and family wish after leading the Warriors to back-to-back NEC title games the last two seasons.

Soon after that, the greatest coach in the history of the NFL Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots agree to ‘mutually part ways,’ ending a 25-year run that may never be seen again (except for the last few seasons). The Belichick news was obviously the most stunning and carried the most weight, given what it means for the history of the Patriots. But, we were just getting started.

Six days later, longtime linebacker Jerod Mayo is named the next head coach of the Pats, officially ushering in a new era with a lighthearted press conference with real answers that hasn’t been seen in these parts since Bill first came onboard in 2000.

Days later, the all-time winningest coach in the history of the Ivy League, Harvard’s Tim Murphy, steps down after 30 years with the program and announces his retirement, leaving a massive void in a Crimson program that is one of the most prestigious in all of football at any level.

Then, as everyone is just trying to sit down and enjoy some dinner around 6 p.m. on Tuesday night, Pete Thamel dropped a bombshell that Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley is leaving the program after four years to become the defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers.

Hafley’s tenure at BC won’t be remembered all that fondly by the fans because of the inconsistency, but the history books will have him as a guy who got BC bowl eligible for three of his four years here. Zion Johnson and Zay Flowers are also huge home run draft picks under him, even though they were obviously Adazzio guys.

Each guy that’s left had a very unique way of dealing with the media, but all of them had the utmost respect for all of us and made covering football around here so much fun. Belichick’s best pressers were Fridays, especially when he felt good about a game plan that particular week. The five-minute answers he gave me on Holy Cross’ playoff run or his time with the 1978 Broncos are two pieces of audio/video I’ll keep on my phone forever.

Chesney always had a smile on his face during his weekly Tuesday media sessions and while often coy with his answers, would give you what you needed to know during game week if you read between the lines. Following games, win or lose – and there weren’t many losses to cover – he was honest and forthright, never dismissive and often critical of himself and the team when needed. Covering the team’s spring practices or just chatting in his office during some down time were highlights of my trips to Worcester. We’d often chat pregame in and end zone and during those particularly cold playoff games against Sacred Heart and UNH, I’ll never forget asking him why he wasn’t wearing a jacket and he’d tell me ‘come on Stoney, you don’t need one either it’s a beautiful day!’ Chesney simply built a culture where everyone mattered to the success of the program, even the three or four reporters that covered the team.

In all honesty, Murphy was almost as intimidating as covering Belichick at times. Murphy was such a legendary figure, when we first started NEFJ I hadn’t really followed much of the FCS level having worked for a newspaper covering high schools the last decade-plus. I was frankly a little scared of him and assumed he wasn’t really media friendly. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Getting to know him was a treat and you could quickly see why so many people loved playing for him and working alongside him. As he began to get more familiar with me, our interviews became more like catch up sessions between two old friends before we got down to the nitty gritty and the real reason I called him for an interview on a particular story. After games, he always projected this distinguished excellence whether the Crimson won or lost. You always felt like it was a big deal sitting in a Harvard postgame presser.

From the very first time I sat in on Hafley’s introductory presser on December 16, 2019, I was drawn to the way he spoke. There was that Northeast guy, ‘I’m going to show you’ attitude that leaped out as soon as he began talking about his vision for the program. He truly wanted to change BC, but the landscape simply changed too much for him to stick around anymore. Covid, NIL, the portal. It’s become an outrageous bidding war that’s pushing the coaches who truly love the game away. Plus, with such a huge wave of new young coaches getting NFL jobs, if Hafley didn’t get back into the league this offseason, who knows when he would have had another shot.

During the week, covering BC is not the easiest job in the world. With one in-person press conference and another Zoom session between three-five people, trying to make sure every angle is covered while only having limited time with the head coach is tough, but he always made sure every question was answered, even if he had to dodge it a little. I’ve been lucky enough to text with and call Hafley numerous times over the last few years to both shoot the breeze and talk ball and he was always willing to try and help out as far as providing honest thoughts and opinions.

It’s not lost on any of us that have gotten a chance to cover these coaches how special this time period was. Not only that, but each of them have been tremendous supporters of ours as we continue to try and provide college coverage like nothing anyone around here as ever seen before.

It’s truly stunning that the biggest names and faces in New England football – aside from Jim Mora and Don Brown – are no longer part of the landscape here and every move happened within weeks of each other.

Belichick, Hafley, Murphy, Chesney. Collectively, that group of names has changed the way people view football around here.

Pro Days, spring ball and everything that follows is going to look and feel much, much different in 2024, but at least we can all say we got to witness one of the greatest eras for coaching in the history of New England football.