The New England Patriots are going through the type of awful season they haven’t seen in decades, and although they managed to defeat a playoff-caliber Pittsburgh Steelers team on Thursday, they still have a dismal 3-10 record.
One of the interesting subplots surrounding the team for the last several weeks has been the rumors regarding the future of longtime head coach Bill Belichick.
As recently as a year or two, Belichick still seemed untouchable, as he helped deliver six Super Bowl championships to the franchise, but now he has reportedly been on the hot seat.
Per Dov Kleiman, Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports reports that following the team’s Week 10 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, owner Robert Kraft decided he would “move on” from Belichick once the season ends.
REPORT: #Patriots owner Robert Kraft has already decided to “move on” from Bill Belichick at the end of the season after their loss to the #Colts on Week 10 source told @tomecurran
Curran: “When they came out of the loss in Germany, conversations I had that week made it very… https://t.co/ogXzxihLW0 pic.twitter.com/J7S9HciHTA
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) December 12, 2023
What may have done Belichick in is the fact that he’s also New England’s de facto general manager, and many feel he has done a poor job of surrounding quarterback Mac Jones with viable and reliable playmakers.
No one on the team has more than 410 receiving yards this season, and unsurprisingly, they rank last in points scored.
Jones has struggled in his third pro season, and he has been benched multiple times.
Bailey Zappe has been the team’s starter lately, and he completed 19 of 28 passes for 240 yards and three touchdowns last Thursday versus the Steelers.
Even if Kraft and the Patriots were to change their mind on Belichick, they’re years away from contending for a world championship, and the 71-year-old coach may be unwilling or unable to wait around for the team to become very competitive again.
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