Tom Brady. But TB12 likely would have won 2-3 fewer without Bill. It went south when Bill got too much control over personnel post Pioli. Drafting Gronk and Edelman helped ignite the second era of the dynasty.
Beli was notorious for always being a step ahead of the NFL, turning one teams trash into his treasure, reinventing talented players that felt washed up. He also found versatile diamonds in the rough in the draft with a focus on character and cultural fit, year after year.
This all disintegrated in the age of information and data analytics with technology evening the landscape.
His challenge was at a certain point of the information/data evolution in sports as a whole, he didn’t adapt and he didn’t give the reigns to a capable GM. He kept trying to outsmart the field with oddball cute draft picks that didn’t pan out, year after year. Taking guards out of Tennessee Tech in the first round didn’t work anymore and it was time to start going chalk. It just became exhausting as a fan to watch these hopeless draft classes amount to nothing every year. We’re still experiencing the pitfalls of his drafting and may for another couple years.