Sunday saw the Patriots fall to 2-8 on the season, adding to what has been an underwhelming campaign for a team which appears destined to miss the postseason for the third time in four years. As the losing skid continues, questions will no doubt intensify about Bill Belichick‘s job security. 
[RELATED: Exploring Potential Post-Belichick Patriots Options]
“This is our thirtieth year that I’ve had the privilege of owning this team, and I’ve never been 2-7,” owner Robert Kraft said in a pre-game interview with NFL Network’s Rich Eisen (video link). “So it’s really disappointing and I hoped that things would be a lot better, as I know our fan base did… This isn’t what we were expecting to happen this year.”
Kraft’s postseason-or-bust ultimatum in the offseason led to speculation about how the team would handle Belichick’s future if expectations weren’t met. The latter signed a new deal prior to the start of the 2023 campaign, though the terms of that agreement were unclear at first. Previous reports have suggested the contract only runs through 2024, and Eisen’s colleague Ian Rapoport confirmed Sunday that is indeed the case. Moving on from Belichick after the season would thus not be financially prohibitive for Kraft.
Speculation has increased about teams showing interest in Belichick in the event he becomes available via trade or if he were to find his New England tenure come to an end via firing or resignation. On that point, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports the expectation from many around the situation remains a “mutual parting of the ways” after the season finishes (subscription required). As she and Rapoport note, however, it would come as a surprise if a coaching change were to be made midseason despite the struggles New England has endured so far.
Of course, the evaluation of Belichick from Kraft could chance in the coming weeks, but signs continue to point to a changing of the guard on the sidelines in the spring. The willingness Kraft shows to eat one season’s worth of Belichick’s deal – as well as the interest he shows in a potential replacement – will certainly be a major storyline to watch as the second half of the campaign plays out.
Keep preaching how great Bill is. Every year, his teams decline.
NFL is a QB driven league… It’s awfully tough to win when you don’t have a QB who’s above average
No kidding. And Bill can’t win w/o one. Both in NE and Cleveland. Sub 500 in 9 seasons w/o a great QB.
took cle to the playoffs with Bernie Kosar! 11-5 with Cassel. so there’s that.
like how it was awfully tough for Bill to be decent with Bernie Kosar as his starter back in Cleveland…
The issue is the person who drafted the lame QB. When you’re GM and coach, pride gets in the way of making the right decisions.
Yep the issue is Kraft…. you got half of it right.
Why would another team want him? He’s not getting any younger or better. He has proven that he sucks without Brady over and over.
I hate to tell you but as a Raiders fan with Josh McDaniels as a head coach you would rather….
OH Wait……
I hate to say this but they seemed like they wanted to tank today. I know Jones threw a terrible INT but he was still 15-20 for the game. And instead they bring in a cold QB for the last drive?
Cmon
No QB has hope behind that line & with the WR corp. Maybe Mac is bad, but so are the other 10 players on NE’s O.
Patriots played that last series like they wanted to lose.
I get that Jones threw an awful pick. But he was 15-20 in the game but they run out a cold QB for the final drive?
Tank.
Sorry for the repeat. I hate the error messages
Edit and delete it.
The NFL is like any institution that entails a voice that is in place to lead younger workers. Over time, that voice and message have the twin problems of falling on deaf ears and the inability to change with the times. Belichick is one of the greatest coaches ever, but his era has come and gone
Did Bill have the 90’s pass him over as well? All I have seen this year is sloppy, mistake filled, poor play calling, and an awful roster from Bill. The fake spike & the no returner on punt has nothing to do with being ‘too old.’.
Do you want Bill being hired to run your team now? I don’t think so. But why not, he’s the greatest of all time after all.
arty, are you serious? I think “coaching genius” is largely predicated on being in the right place at the right time with the right players. My comment above was a general observation
That said, New England has Bill, and we have Tomlin. They can both ride off in the sunset as far as I’m concerned
How can a guy be called a ‘genius’ w/ 9 seasons of sub 500 football? Come on, the joke is over.
Jim Harbaugh has 4 division tiles, 2 SB trips, a 154-97 record. Name is HoF QB, Flacco?
Reid won non-stop in Philly and with Alex Smith before getting his hands on Mahomes. Over a decade of winning w/o a HoF QB.
Exactly what has Bill won w/o a HoF QB? Nothing.
Hence my usage of quotation marks. Point was, I’m not sure there are more than a handful of “geniuses” in professional sports
Here’s my idea: show me a guy who continually was hired by perennial losers and turned them around.
Now Kraft is a perennial loser and it’s his fault, not Bill’s? Nothing but excuses. When didn’t Bill have carte blanche in NE? Still does. That is 100% his roster, coaching & coaches, and staff; no one else’s.
I must be speaking in some sort of code or arty is hallucinating. Don’t know where *I* said any of these things but ok
Best part is, I couldn’t care less
I’m not hallucinating. Just tired of everyone ignoring Bill’s entire record as a HC. Plenty of coaches, in all era’s, won steadily w/ average QB’s, just not Bill.
Different sport but his name is Buck Showalter.
Always remember: Dumb Sports Fans think one sport equals another!
No maybe the defensive coach of all times but he is certainly not the best head coach of all time in factory may be way down the line on that and he certainly is the worst general manager in all of sports as far as I’m concerned. His 65 and 84 record without Brady tells me all I need to know about him.
Check out this excellent breakdown on ESPN over how bad Bill has drafted for the past 8 seasons.
On the top of the PFR scroll, he just cut his 2nd pick from 2 years ago. As another example.
link to espn.com
Great coach, but too many bad drafts and FA signings lately!
He isn’t up to date with college prospects anymore. He’s still in 2009. Get another GM and give BB the option to remain as coach. Pride will probably “force” him to resign, which I would hate to see. All teams go in the can. Look how long the Packers were garbage after Lombardi. Or the Cowboys in Landry’s later years.
Goodbye coach BB I hope you have fun in retirement. It’s time to see what coach Mayo will do for the rest of the season.
Crud, not Mayo. Please. Vrabel, maybe.
With that QB and those skill players and that line what did Kraft expect this season to be? They have no quality offensive players anywhere.
But who’s responsible for the choice of that QB and skill players? The pats have missed big on some of their FA signings.
You can’t give BB a pass on the fact that the team has no skill when it’s up to him to get players to fit his scheme.
To me he seems to consistently sign players that remind him of Gronk, Edelman etc and run that same offense
The tanking started when the pats decided not to return the punt and sacrifice field position. (Completely un-Belichick). Tie Bill to this years squad and let him go down with the ship. Kick him to the curb after the season. Take that top 5 pick and trade down for multiple firsts this year and next.
Whatever happens just don’t pick Caleb Williams. They don’t need some crybaby quarterback.
Who can’t beat top 25 teams either.
They won a lot of super bowls with a cry baby QB. The GOAT.
Banished Words List! Banished Words List!
McDaniels will be the next offensive coordinator after they fire the one there now lol
Like Brady I think Bill needs to go somewhere with an established situation. Primarily at qb and focus on being head coach.
Chargers seem like an obvious choice.
Herbert at QB. Doesn’t need developing. Defense needs a bend don’t break approach which bill is great at. Brandon Staley has got to go.
New Orleans could make some sense with Carr at QB there.
Everywhere else there’s either no qb long term or a good situation or a young qb that needs developing already. Not a lot of jobs out there.
Bill shouldn’t go anywhere except his boat. He’s shown that he can’t adapt to the game as it has evolved, and he would never go someplace where he would effectively be told how to do his job. His ego would never allow that.
Belichick to Michigan where an advanced spying network is already in place.
BB should just retire. He’s in Marv Levy territory age-wise and Levy, a class act, said he stayed on the sidelines too long. Catching Shula’s wins record is unrealistic unless BB changes his style radically, and who sees that happening?
It’s no shame for an all-time great to retire without breaking a number-of-wins record. Serena Williams and Tiger Woods are undisputed giants in their respective sports. They both said, early on, that they wanted to break the all-time records for major wins. Neither succeeded, but nobody will ever challenge their GOAT status.
Is your name Mike Lupica by any chance? The Baghdad Bob of the National Sports Media loves name-checking the Foxboro Cheatriots’ coach, a car-crashing womanizer, and a woman who lost a major tennis tournament for arguing with the chair umpire.
Overrated, arrogant, “where’s Tom?” wannabee. Alot tougher to cch n win when u don’t have other teams scripted plays. “On to sitn on the couch on Sundays … “
This guy checked out when his rub-n-tug place got shutdown it time for him the step aside and see what his son can do
Kraft has lost his way as well as Belichick. Kraft has forgotten why he bought the team in the first place. All the winning years because of Brady has perhaps changed him to just wanting to make money. Kraft is as much to fault as anyone else and so I think it’s time for him to sell the team. Thanks for great years Mr Kraft but it’s time to go.
I blame Linda Holliday. Bill hasn’t been any good since they got together.