With only two games remaining in the New England Patriots’ season, we’ll soon learn if the Bill Belichick era in Foxboro will be ending for good.
There have been conflicting reports about whether or not Patriots owner Robert Kraft has already made up his mind on Belichick’s fate.
Sports Illustrated NFL insider Albert Breer put the odds on the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach sticking around at “less than 50-50.”
However, Breer did come up with a possible scenario for Kraft to pitch Belichick in an attempt to keep him onboard, sharing it in his column today.
But I could see a scenario where Patriots owner Robert Kraft goes to Belichick and lays it out like this: We were going to restructure football ops after you retired, so rather than waiting for that, we’re going to do it now. I’m hiring a general manager. You won’t report to him, but he won’t report to you, either. Both of you will report to me, and you will work together, with his job being to build the roster up to 90, and your job being to cut it down to 53. If you want to be a part of that, great. If not, we can find a graceful way to end this.
If Belichick wanted to be a part of that, it would mean he’d have to cede personnel control, which, after more than two decades running the whole show in New England, seems unlikely.
Should he say no–if Kraft even gives him the option–then we’ll see if another team like the Washington Commanders or Los Angeles Chargers make a push for Belichick.