Another Big Bowl Of Awkward

The recriminations continue in the aftermath of the New England Patriots' blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night:

This loss has to be extra awkward for Bill Belichick with his sons on staff as defensive coaches

This is super awkward.

Bill Belichick will be 70 next time he coaches an NFL game. He has a Nantucket compound, a boat called “VIII Rings,” and probably makes more money than any coach in America. He’s on pace to become the winningest coach in NFL history and has absolute power with the direction of the Patriot franchise.

And yet these are not great days for Belichick. He just saw his upstart team suffer a humiliating playoff defeat in Buffalo, then watched 44-year-old Tom Brady advance in the tournament with yet another quarterbacking masterpiece Sunday afternoon.

Oh, and one more thing …

Fair or unfair, there’s the nepotism thing.

Belichick has two sons on the Patriots coaching staff, both on defense. One of them, Steve, who has been with the team for 10 seasons, may be the de facto defensive coordinator. Matt Patricia was the last Patriot assistant coach officially listed as “defensive coordinator.” Brian Flores did the same job but never had the title. Today, Steve Belichick and Jerod Mayo are believed to be acting as co-defensive coordinators.

Shank goes on to list many examples of 'nepotism' in the NFL and other professional sports. It's not always a bad thing, since these kids are exposed to / steeped in sports from an early age, which makes it a bit more natural for them. The problem arises when the team they're with loses, and loses in bad fashion.

While not exactly an example of nepotism, it should be noted the time when Shank got his daughter an internship with Red Sox co-owner Tom Werner's Hollywood production company. But that doesn't quite rise to the level of de facto defensive coordinator of the Patriots, does it?