OCTOBER 15: Like other reporters, Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post is not hearing any rumblings that Belichick could be fired in-season. After all, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com notes, the locker room remains united, and Belichick is showing no outward signs of panic.
Nonetheless, it seems increasingly likely that 2023 will be Belichick’s last season in Foxborough, and that the 71-year-old himself may be ready to move on. If that happens, then Jonathan Kraft, Robert’s son and the club’s team president, reportedly prefers a younger HC who has less control over football operations. Indeed, Belichick’s missteps as the Pats’ de facto GM are well-documented and have played a major role in New England’s post-Brady struggles, and it makes sense that the team would want to begin anew with a more traditional power structure.
A coaching agent that spoke with La Canfora unsurprisingly believes there would be a market for Belichick’s services, and La Canfora names the Bears as a potential landing spot if Chicago should decide to part ways with current HC Matt Eberflus while retaining GM Ryan Poles. Poles entered the NFL’s personnel world as a scouting assistant with the Chiefs under then-GM Scott Pioli, and Pioli worked with Belichick in Cleveland from 1992-95 and in New England from 2000-08.
OCTOBER 11: Sitting at the bottom of the AFC East after two massive blowouts, speculation regarding Bill Belichick‘s job security has picked up again. The Patriots’ head coach and de facto GM appears to face the very serious possibility of finding himself out of his current position by next season. 
The relationship between Belichick and owner Robert Kraft has soured during the course of the post-Tom Brady era, one in which the Patriots have made only one playoff appearance and not won a postseason game. Tensions between the two went public over the summer, fueling questions about Kraft’s readiness to authorize a coaching change in the event of continued team struggles.
The opening weeks of 2023 certainly meet that description, and New England now sits at 1-4. As a result, internal tension within the organization has been exacerbated, reports Sportkeeda’s Tony Pauline. The team’s slow start has illustrated roster-building issues which can understandably be attributed to Belichick, who was reported to be on the hot seat before the start of the campaign. Pauline’s sources indicate the 71-year-old is not expected to return for 2024, though a midseason firing would come as a surprise at this point.
That presumed scenario would involve Belichick – who has been in place since 2000 and ranks third on the NFL’s all-time wins list – choosing to step aside and avoid needing to be given a pink slip. His lengthy list of accomplishments has led many to expect he would receive enough leeway to decide his own fate. Especially if the trend of lopsided losses and offensive struggles continues, though, that may not be the case.
Jeff Howe of the The Athletic notes that Kraft is becoming increasingly frustrated with Belichick’s performance and that of the team as a whole (subscription required). Howe adds that New England’s defense has been angered by the comparative poor play of the offense, a unit led by third-year quarterback Mac Jones. The former first-rounder has not succeeded in offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien‘s system as expected, something which has certainly not helped the perceived rift between Jones and Belichick that came to light in the offseason.
Moving on from Belichick at any time, and in any manner, would mark a major move for the Patriots considering their unmatched run of success during his tenure. It seems increasingly likely, however, that the next chapter in the organization’s history will be starting in the short-term future. New England’s ability to rebound from consecutive lopsided defeats (or lack thereof) will certainly be worth watching as it pertains to Belichick’s hot seat status.
Im really rooting for Bill….
…To get the all time loss record.
I think he has what it takes if he just keeps being Bill.
Mac is a strong reason to believe too!
With a moniker like “Bills1” I wouldn’t expect anything less! 🙂
Bills fan would know about losing
What have the loser Bills won?
He’s also 3rd in career wins. He’s coached a ton of games. Being first in losses wouldn’t be a huge thing.
Brady made Belly…
Belicheck made Brady, initially. Then Brady carried Belicheck.
There were also brilliant personnel moves made by Bill that benefited Brady immensely. It was a perfect yin and yang.
would like to see Pats get a top QB in this draft
would be interesting to see how they fare with some talent behind center
It’s funny when people claim.the successful seasons were all because of Brady. But how soon they forget he managed to win a ton of games with Matt Cassel.
His career stats without Brady are in line with Rex Ryan.
It’s just math.
Bills fans can’t count past 0. That’s how many super bowls they’ve won. There is no chance this current crew of losers wins one this year. Josh Mr October Allen
Papi,
Really great response. Totally valid. My team has zero superbowls. I feel so owned! Sick burn!
I realize this is the canned response of most Pats fans when they have nothing to add, but great feedback from the past! Really astute. You should be proud.
But: For even dummies like me, ( I wish I had your wit and insight!) here is some more math:
-Your team has zero percent chance to make the playoffs this year.
-My team has zero cheating scandals.
-The past is not equal to the current season. For real! (google it!)
-zero percent chance you can understand the sarcasm in this post.
Congrats in scoring 17 points today! It is nearly as much as the previous 3 games combined! Heating up!
For real though, enjoy the season buddy. I hope Bill sticks around a little longer. We all love the NFL, and I hope you have a great week.
Cheers!
Belichick was also a much better coach back then. The moves that he made-moves that many times had nothing to do with Brady, on defense or special teams-were brilliant. It’s undeniable that having a legendary quarterback took a huge pile of pressure off the head coach, but the closer you look, the more uniquely genius a lot of those moves by Belichick were.
Lately? It’s been a glut of awful. The defense actually has been mostly good (the last two games obviously haven’t been), which is to be expected. But the offense has terrible. The thing that has stood out has not been Belichick’s genius, but his stubbornness.
He’s gotten older, so it could be that, but Belichick’s moves have just looked worse, Brady or not. The fact is, when you look closely at the Patriots’ run of success, Bill looks like a much like a much different coach than he does now. It almost seems like he WANTS to be fired.
Old BS Bill should have ridden into the sunset when Brady left and quit on top. Now he’s just Pathetic Bill.
I think he’s actually just trying to tank because he knows this class is stacked at QB.
prob tired of overachieving to the tune of 8-9 with a roster worthy of 4-13.
I think that’s been the issue is actually Bill’s coaching them too good , when really they just need some high draft picks right now
I actually could see that, as conspiratorial as it sounds. Jones seems to have just lost his confidence completely. But being the guy to succeed THE GUY can do that, especially if the team around is also terrible.
Nah. Bill has way too much integrity.
That guy is a straight edge.
*sarcasm
I always saw Mac as a 2nd round flyer. was surprised to see him get mocked and drafted so early that year.
while they haven’t been in position to draft a top QB , we see a reluctance to sign veteran in free agency who could to some degree recreate the Matt Cassel offense.
while Carr & Jimmy G were smart land mines to avoid ,
the likes of Andy Dalton, Gardner Minshew, Baker Mayfield, Carson Wentz & Taylor Heineke would’ve all been notable upgrades behind center over “Landry” Mac Jones.
So you’re saying there’s a GM/Head Coach vacancy???
– BOB
Each of them have a mediocre roster led by a struggling young QB but Mike Tomlin has his team 3-2 while the genius BB is only 1-4.
Mike Tomlin has way more talent on that team. And has had a lot more talent on recent teams and has done zero with it.
And he also has a GM that knows what he’s doing
Oh, who is responsible for talent acquisition in New England?
Tomlin has spent his career in the shadow of a guy who might not be able to win jack without Brady and/or cheating.
Belichick should get himself fired – as about 6 teams would jettison their current HC to immediately sign him, but likely can’t afford the picks New England would demand to swing a trade.
Please God no… Jerry would call him!
he’s not worse than your current coach
Like who there’s no team out there who wants a guy who still thinks he’s playing in the 80’s and 90’s who thinks special teams is important and paying top dollars for garbage players that shouldn’t even be in the league and let’s not forget about his massive ego and control programs
The stupidity of this comment is mind boggling.
If he’s fired, isn’t he free to go anywhere, with hiring team free of any compensation to the Patriots?
You didn’t understand what they said.
Would belichick want to coach again? The offer to be a fox analyst with Brady would be to great to turn down
What would he do? Mumble his way through color commentary?
I never knew I wanted this, but Sideline reporter. Please God.
I mean, isn’t that what Brady is going to do?
Belichick the GM is going to get Belichick the coach fired!!!
For a long time, that narrative was overblown. Since, say, 2018-2019, it seems to have been true. There have been some good moves, but more failures.
The Patriots have had a lot to replace outside of Brady, even though he gets the headlines. But they haven’t done it. That’s definitely Belichick’s failure. I would wager, in my opinion, that losing Brady was quite impactful, but that losing Ernie Adams impacted Belichick more in terms of how he evaluated players. Those genius moves have out of nowhere have all dried up, seemingly, in the last five or so years. Even Brady’s final years in NE saw a different type of team on the field. The question that remains is whether Belichick could succeed with-or even accept-a GM to address the talent deficiencies on the team. That would be a much delayed move, but Belichick can still coach defense. Maybe not to the degree that HE thinks that he can, but the Patriots have less talent overall than most teams in the NFL. It has finally caught up to them.
If Kraft wasn’t so medicated and busy getting massages he might realize that dynasties don’t last forever in any sport.
The tuck rule.
Spying on opponents.
Running up the score.
Gangstas in the team (hello Aaron Hernandez!)
Deflated footballs.
Now getting smoked by Dallas away then New Orleans at home. Even the AP acknowledges Belichick is a loser without Brady.
It’s just a matter of time and my money is on Halloween.
Bill O’Brien is running the worst offense in the league. If Belichick goes, they need to send O’Brien with him.
Maybe O’Brien can get Bill to trade for Hopkins…
Come to my Vikings,Mr.Belichick!
We need a Head Coach!
The Vikings only have 7 veterans 30 or older so they are way too young to interest Bill. He usually wants at least a dozen players 30 or older.
Bill also despises fast WR’s. He would trade Jefferson.
I wish my Vikings would trade him!
Bill’s not the cutting edge cheater anymore n appears less than avg @this point of his career. Getn skooled n he acts like they’re competitive gms.
Hi. We think they need to make Matt Jones not play at all. He stinks. When he got hurt you let him play – he was Matt’s backup. Matt Jones is not on the same page as everyone else. He’s off in own little world. Passing is terrible. He can’t complete a pass. Sorry but true. Let the kid who is behind him that his name we can’t think of right now. He makes plays. Put him for a few games see how he does. Colappalo is doing good in SFO. Should have kept him. Yes keep Bill. We are still pats fans but come on replace the folks who left, buy better players, let Matt Jones back up player play.
This entire passage is why AI poses no serious threat to most actual writers
I cringe everytime they show Bill’s kid on the sidelines
Tom Brady never won a SB without a top 10 ranked scoring defense.
Those defenses were Bill’s. His defenses also lead to 2 SB wins with the Giants
They benefitted immensely from each other.
He needs called in. After the season. You’re coach or GM. Being both isn’t working. You don’t like it, goodbye.
Belichick. Most over rated HC of all time. Without the GOAT. He can’t win a game.
Bill will leave on his own. Kraft will usurp the GM position and offer to still let Bill coach, but BB will decline.