As we start 2024, the football season will officially end when the Pats close things out against the Jets next Sunday at Gillette.
We thought we’d start to look ahead to the top storylines locally for the upcoming season with Pro Days and combines right around the corner. Heck, it’ll be time for high school and college training camps before you know it!
1. The future of the Patriots
This is 1, 1A, 1B and 1C. The future of the organization for the next 20-30 years could ultimately be set in place this offseason. Is Bill back? Is he only coaching if he is? Who’s the GM? Does he still answer to Bill? Who’s the head coach if it’s not Bill? Who’s your franchise quarterback? Is he already on the roster? Do you take him with a Top 3 pick? Do you trade down and try to add more assets to fill multiple holes? Who’s the OC and DC? Do they re-sign some key guys? Which receivers do you bring in? There are SO many questions that this team needs to answer between now and the NFL Combine, it’s not only the biggest football story locally, but nationally too.
2. Has BC finally turned the corner after bowl win?
Ok, so the seven win bar has finally been reached (even if it took an extra game to get there), so where is BC heading now? It feels like this program has a ton of momentum – thanks largely to Thomas Castellanos – and it also feels like the portal is going to continue being a big point of emphasis. Jason Tudryn and Jeff Hafley have already gotten guys to flip commitments from SEC schools, brought in a couple of Ohio State DB’s and continue to scour the country looking for instant impact guys. The message has been clear for weeks now, if BC is going to compete in the ACC, Hafley knows building through the portal is a necessary evil in today’s college football world. There’s a lot of talent coming back on both sides that just got bowl game experience and Matt Applebaum shut critics up with the revamped O-line that should be just about as good next season despite losing Christian Mahogany to the draft. If Castellanos can develop his passing game and decision making in the offseason, there’s no telling how good BC can be in 2024.
3. Can UMass finally make a bowl game?
The FBS experiment has been a disaster from the start for UMass, but has Don Brown finally got things pointed in the right direction? If not for another bad run of injuries this year that immediately halted the Minutemen’s momentum after Week 1, they very well could have been bowl eligible this season. Still, the record was what it was at 3-9, but with certainty at quarterback for the first time in a long time and continued emphasis on veteran help in the portal, Brown seems to have the program inching closer to success and respectability. Consistency was the biggest issue in 2023, especially on defense. If Brown can get that back on track and Steve Casula can continue building the offense, six wins should not be out of the question in 2024.
4. Can UConn get the magic back?
UConn’s ugly 2023 was very surprising given the success in 2022. Injuries and just a lack of execution week after week resulted in just a 3-9 season. The good news for Jim Mora is that his players didn’t quit on him after starting 0-5 and in fact, got better as the year went on. The Mass victory at the end of the year was important. Like their rivals, UConn had some bad luck with injuries, guys left the team and there was a lack of consistency regularly on game days, especially in the run game and on defense. Mora has been extremely vocal when it comes to NIL help and he fully understands what it’s going to take to get the Huskies back to bowl eligibility, which should mean a heavy dose of portal dipping. Clearly, UConn had the formula figured out in 2022, so this program shouldn’t be that far away from getting its swagger back.
5. Dan Curran takes over at Holy Cross
Arguably the most surprising development to close out 2023 and heading into 2024 is the situation at Holy Cross. Bob Chesney leaving wasn’t a surprise – he’s been due for the step up for a couple years now if we’re all being honest – but his replacement certainly was. Dan Curran has been building something special at Merrimack and after two straight appearances at home in the NEC title game, it felt like the Warriors were on the cusp of breaking through into the playoffs after a still somewhat brief stint as a D1 FCS program. But, in his speech taking over the Holy Cross job, Curran said it was going to take a special place to pry him out of Merrimack and that’s exactly what the Crusaders’ program is. The foundation for elite play with true character guys has been set and there’s no reason why Curran can’t keep the train rolling in Worcester, even if he does lose three of the best players in the country in Matt Sluka, Jacob Dobbs and Jalen Coker. Merrimack is also in good hands with Michael Gennetti taking over for Curran. Both programs should still be two of the best in New England.
6. Bryant enters the CAA
After a quick two-year run in the Big South and then Big South/OVC, Bryant is coming back home. The Bulldogs – who finished the year 6-5 with multiple OT losses – are now in the CAA. One of the best conferences in all of FCS football will add another very good team with Chris Merritt’s crew. Much like Merrimack, Bryant has been building towards the postseason and they should jump right in and compete with rival URI as well as Maine and UNH. Zevi Eckhaus’ departure leaves quite a big void to fill at quarterback, but this is a talented team that’s got plenty of resources behind it to compete on the field and off it when it comes to recruiting.
7. The Ivy League has never been better
We say this every year, but the Ivy League is the best part about covering college football in New England. This year’s race ultimately ended with Yale, Harvard and Dartmouth sharing the title, with each program having a very unique story to get to that point. The job Sammy McCorkle did with the Big Green was nothing short of remarkable. Yale’s run at the top of the league has been impressive over the last handful of years and their ability to clinch back-to-back titles came down to the very last day of the season – as it seems to do a lot these days – in The Game. Harvard clinched for the first time since 2015 the week prior to the meeting with Yale and head coach Tim Murphy also became the all-time winningest coach in the Ivy League during the year. Brown’s offense was also one of the most explosive in all of FCS, putting up ridiculous numbers almost every week. With each team ultimately recruiting the same type of athlete and each program developing NFL-caliber guys at a faster rate than ever before, this league continues to be the most competitive and entertaining one in the country and 2024 should be no different.
8. New home for Mass Pirates
The Mass Pirates are headed to Lowell. Tsongas Center is the new home for New England’s premiere indoor football team. It’ll be interesting to see if bigger crowds or new fans are able to go to games easier now without having to make the trek out to Worcester. The up-close and in-your-face product has done very well here when it comes to garnering attention. Not only that, but just three years ago the Pirates won the Indoor League United Bowl title. The ability to see some potential future stars is real as leagues like the IFL and now merging USFL and XFL are being scouted more and more by NFL teams. Get out to Tsomgas if you can this season, it’s definitely a ‘wow’ experience if you haven’t been to an indoor game live.
9. Can the Renegades make it six straight?
The only pro football dynasty that currently exists in New England is actually the Renegades. Boston – led by the GOAT of women’s pro football Allison Cahill at QB – just won a fifth straight Women’s Football Alliance title and have won 40 consecutive games overall. Not only have the Renegades continued to win, but they’ve done so in dominant fashion, usually blowing teams out by halftime. There’s little reason to believe a sixth straight title (ninth overall for Boston women’s pro football) won’t be back at Harry Della Russo stadium in Revere this summer.
10. The best is yet to come for high school football
New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island or Massachusetts. It doesn’t matter where you are, the case can be made that New England high school football has never been better than it is right now. Of course, there could always be tweaks to playoff systems and the argument about Thanksgiving football and it’s worth will seemingly go on forever – as will the prep/private debate for Super Bowls – but in terms of engagement, there are now social media teams dedicated solely to football at a ton of high schools. In general, the competitiveness and the overall attention on the game here has never been higher. Kids are being recruited to major Division 1 programs more than ever before, just take a look at some of the names on rosters playing in bowl games this weekend and all throughout last week. There’s always going to be people unhappy with the current set ups as far as divisions, but it does feel like the game is in a really good place at the high school level in this region when it comes to more and more attention being placed on the athletes.