Bill Belichick led the New England Patriots as head coach for 24 years, leading the formerly futile franchise to six Super Bowl wins, nine total appearances in the title game, and 13 AFC Championship games including eight in a row from 2011 to 2018. But after the 2023 season, Patriots owner Robert Kraft fired him. Why?
One of the reasons may be 2022 first-round draft pick Cole Strange. Now, three years later, Strange is in danger of losing his place on the Patriots roster. Here’s how the Patriots got there.
Belichick’s Bizarre 2022 First Round Draft Choice
The reasons for Belichick’s firing were many and complex, as they always are in such situations. But one of the main causes is generally thought to be the fact that, in his dual role as general manager, he was responsible for overseeing the Patriots’ annual draft — and over the last years of his reign, he simply did not do that job very well.
Perhaps no draft, and no single draft pick, exemplified Belichick’s problems than the 2022 draft and how the iconic coach handled the first round. Belichick and the Patriots held the 21st pick, after a 10-7 record the previous season, with the first and so far only playoff appearance since the departure of legendary quarterback Tom Brady.
Belichick elected to trade the pick to the Kansas City Chiefs, moving the Patriots down to the No. 29 slot. When the Patriots number came up, Belichick took Strange, an offensive lineman from University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, a school that competes in the Football Championship Subdivision, the second tier of Division One college football.
Strange Has Not Delivered in Injury-Plagued Career
“No one understood this pick when the Patriots made it,” wrote Matt Geagan of Boston TV station WBZ. “It even had some teams laughing at the organization.”
Strange has had an awkward NFL career at best. After playing all 17 games in his rookie season, injuries held Strange to just 10 games in 2023, and only three in 2024. When he was on the field, he often struggled — described by Geagan as a “turnstile.”
Whether that description is fair or not, it appears that four days into full-pad practices at the 2025 Patriots training camp, under new head coach Mike Vrabel, Strange is losing the competition for New England’s starting left guard spot to second-year offensive lineman Caedan Wallace, the Patriots’ third-round pick in 2024 out of Penn State.
Shocking Demotion an Ominous Sign for Strange
Wallace was drafted as a tackle, but Vrabel has now moved him to the left guard position and “with 2025 first-round pick Will Campbell at left tackle and offseason signee Morgan Moses at right, Wallace has taken second-team reps at left guard in practice. He’s had the chance to adjust to it and says he’s becoming comfortable there,” according to a report by Avery Hill of The Providence Journal.
Meanwhile, Vrabel moved Strange to backup center for the practice session on Wednesday, according to Hill’s report.
But the Patriots already have free agent Garrett Bradbury and 2024 signing Ben Brown, along with rookie third-round draft pick Jared Wilson at the center position. It seems doubtful that Vrabel sees Strange as a viable option at the position.
Earlier Sign Patriots May Soon Cut Ties With Strange
According to a Boston Herald report, Wilson has also taken reps at left guard and ranks ahead of Strange as well.
The demotion of Strange out of his natural position to a backup role at a position where he has made only two appearances in his career was the second indication that the Patriots are leaning toward cutting ties with Strange. The first came in April when the club declined the fifth-year option on the 27-year-old’s contract.
Patriots May Cut Ties With Controversial Bill Belichick 1st-Round Draft Pick