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Belichick was a disaster, the Patriots did fire Mayo and other 2025 predictions I botched
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- Belichick was a disaster, the Patriots did fire Mayo and other 2025 predictions I botched
I got a little too confident. Arrogant even. My 2024 predictions rivaled the 2025 Patriots for their unexpected success.
So in my annual predictions column, I took bigger swings. Sure, I got some small stuff and easy ones right. But when it came to the big ones, I missed like the Red Sox do on premium free agents.
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And that doesn’t even include my baseball predictions that ran as part of our group picks in March , when I said the Rangers would win the World Series and that Kristian Campbell would be the rookie of the year.
But as always, I’ll own it. Here’s the mostly gruesome recap.
Robert Kraft won’t fire Jerod Mayo or Eliot Wolf— Well, this was a doozy to open with, wasn’t it? I was wrong just days into the year. Not only that, I wrote:
“Mike Vrabel will thrive elsewhere, creating a terrific “What if” for years to come. Meanwhile, the Patriots will go 6-11. "
Vrabel did thrive, but he did it in New England and the Patriots had their sixth win before Halloween.
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Super Bowl: Bills 35, Lions 31— This is what happens when what you want to happen — and that would have been a really fun Super Bowl — leaks into predictions. Oops.
John Henry will not begin selling the Red Sox— This was accurate. For context, in 2023 and 2024, I predicted he would start to sell so this was mocking that.
Tom Brady won’t come back to FOX— I was wrong again, but I’m guessing most Raiders fans wish I was right. Brady is spread too thin and he didn’t exactly rescue the Raiders. He’s mediocre on the air and so far hasn’t given Vegas a lift. Pick a lane, mister.
The Patriots will draft Will Campbell —It should be noted that when I made this prediction, New England was still in position to pick first before the debacle win over Buffalo. I wrote: “Whether they trade down from No. 1 overall or win Sunday and pick fourth or fifth, the LSU offensive tackle will be a New England Patriot next year.”
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That’s a win for me.
The Celtics will lose in the Eastern Conference finals— So obviously not full credit here, but my overall point that they wouldn’t reach the finals is worthy of partial credit.
Caitlin Clark’s appearance at TD Garden sparks talk of putting a WNBA team in Boston— This definitely happened. I didn’t foresee the WNBA handling this as amateurly as they have.
Ichiro will be a unanimous induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame— Missed this by one vote.
College Football Playoff: Ohio State 42, Georgia 35— I’m giving myself deserved partial credit here. I was half right and it was the important half.
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Garrett Crochet will go 15-6, Walker Buehler will be 10-10 —Crochet was 18-5 and Buehler was 7-7. Honestly, that’s not bad. Crochet was outstanding and, truthfully, a little more durable than I expected. Buehler showed flashes but was eventually released with his .500 record.
The Red Sox will lose in the Wild Card round —Yup. Exactly right.
The Red Sox will sign somebody coming off a major injury in December who will be expected to be ready sometime after the All-Star break— Between Liam Hendriks and Patrick Sandoval, I figured they had a roster spot annually carved out for someone from the James Andrews Alumni Association.
Tee Higgins will sign with somebody else— I got this right and Higgins got this wrong, as it turns out. I believe Higgins has to regret staying in Cincy given the way the year turned out.
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Brad Marchand accepts a team-friendly two-year extension— Swing and a big miss by me. I’m honestly still surprised it turned out like it did. At the time, I didn’t know the Bruins were going to fall so badly out of the playoff picture, but I still thought one of the sides would bend when it came down to it.
Aaron Rodgers finds no interest in him as a starting quarterback and retires— Given a do-over, I’m not sure the Steelers would have signed him again, but still, I was wrong and I’ll own it.
Bill Belichick will go 8-5 in the regular season at North Carolina— Hahahahahahahahaha.
I thought Bill Belichick would be quietly mediocre. Loudly bad never occurred to me. I was hoping he’d win the Duke’s Mayo Bowl or the Pop-Tarts Bowl just for the shenanigans of it all.
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The fact that he took a solid program backwards from Mack Brown didn’t seem possible and I’m still flabbergasted that he’s comfortable with Jordon Hudson’s act.
This year’s picks won’t be nearly as good as last year’s—Well, that was a gimme .
More Matt Vautour Columns
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The 25 people who will shape the future of Boston sports for the next 25 years Dec. 31, 2025, 5:00a.m.
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Celtics’ newest icons and champions fill MassLive Quarter-Century Team Dec. 30, 2025, 5:00a.m.
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Damon vs. Ellsbury and other calls we struggled with for MassLive’s Quarter-Century Teams Dec. 30, 2025, 5:00a.m.
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From chasing the No. 1 pick to the No. 1 seed, the Patriots’ turnaround is stunning Dec. 29, 2025, 5:15a.m.
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