I have never been, nor will I ever claim to be a fan of Hannah Montana, but you would be a fool not to admit she nailed it when she came out with her tune, “Nobody’s Perfect.”

In the song, Montana revels in her proclamations that no one is indeed perfect, and that she intends to “try again and again until [she] get[s] it right.” While Patriots coach Bill Belichick will probably not be jamming out to the once-great pop star in between his Bruce Springsteen marathons, Patriots fans need to realize that when it comes to their beloved, can-do-no-wrong head coach, Montana’s words could not be more true. It was admittedly a weird year altogether in the world of football, highlighted by Belichick being the main reason why the Patriots will be watching Super Bowl 50 from their couches.

Belichick should not be fired. Belichick should not be on the hot seat. Belichick should not be having a meeting with owner Robert Kraft to discuss job security. If he so wishes to, Belichick should be the head coach of the Patriots when the 2016-17 campaign comes around.

But, when it comes to dividing up the “blame pie” for who deserves the most criticism for the Pats not making the Super Bowl, Belichick gets the largest slice.

There was no reason this Patriots team should not have been representing the American Football Conference in the Super Bowl. The roster the defending champs brought back this offseason was more than good enough to repeat. The offense was always going to be downright unstoppable with Tom Brady at the helm slinging it to studs like Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski. There was always the question of whether cornerback Malcolm Butler could make the loss of Darrelle Revis slightly less noticeable, but emerging young stars like Jamie Collins and Dont’a Hightower would at least keep the defense serviceable.

You can even forget about the high preseason speculation if you want, and look at the actual on-field data the Patriots provided. I saw a team that was 10-0 and was on their way to 11-0 had now-jobless Chris Harper not dropped that punt in Denver. Looking around the AFC made things look even better. Last year’s proud AFC Championship game participant Colts were in shambles, the Cincinnati we-always-lose-in-the-playoffs were never really a threat, Peyton Manning was absolutely atrocious at quarterback during the regular season and the Steelers, who I believe the Patriots were always better than, lost about half their roster, including Ben Roethlisberger, to injury at some point.

Now don’t get me wrong the Patriots suffered their fair share of injuries this season too, JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER TEAM. Were the injuries a factor? Yes. Should they have kept the Patriots from getting the top seed in the playoffs and having the AFC run through Foxboro? No.

For some reason unbeknownst to me, the Patriots just can not win a playoff game in Denver; the 2005 divisional round game, the championship game two years ago, and the game a few weeks ago are all recent examples of that. I’m not sure if the Pats not being able to win in Denver is because of the climate or the hostile fans. Whatever that reason is, however, is irrelevant if the championship game is in Foxboro. You would have a hard time convincing me the Patriots would have lost that game had it been at home, something just one more regular season win would have accomplished.

Which brings me back to Bill, and his mismanaging of key scenarios down the stretch. Sure, the Philadelphia Eagles finished 7-9 this year, but to me, they were at times one of, if not the worst, teams in the NFL. Losing to them in Foxboro was a joke that all started when Belichick decided to do a rugby-style kickoff up 14-0 to try to “catch them off guard.” That is something nobody ever does, like ever. The Eagles scored on that short-field drive, and after a couple special teams miscues, the game turned into a blowout with the lowly Eagles flying high. What that ridiculous rugby kickoff showed, is that Belichick thought he could show-up Chip Kelly with cute little stupid plays like that and still win. That loss was inexplicable.          

The decision in the Jets game to give them the ball to start overtime was the right one, but luckily Belichick gave me more ammo week 17 against Miami. All one needs to know about that game is the washed-up, old running back Steven Jackson was the focal point of the Patriots offense. Belichick thought he could roll into Miami week 17, give 50 percent of his effort, and come out with the win.

There were in-game decisions during this most recent AFC Championship game, most-notably not deferring to the second half after winning the coin toss, that have been debated. But I won’t pick on those here.

Sitting starters and playing uber-conservative week 17 cost you a win that would have given the Pats the number one seed. Belichick was wrong for believing he could coach two games at 50 percent and think his team would be fine.

The end of the season stung, yes, but it’s okay because no one is perfect. Even the great Bill Belichick is human and makes mistakes. Unfortunately, those mistakes cost the Patriots another Super Bowl run.

No matter how you slice up the blame pie, Belichick has to be going in for seconds.