Some thoughts following Bill Belichick’s Monday press conference:
1) Belichick certainly looked tired as he met with reporters, with the embattled coach meeting with the media in the same shirt he wore a little over 12 hours earlier, having likely not slept or left the building.
If he’s thinking he’s getting fired, he doesn’t appear to have that mindset. He told reporters he’ll meet with owner Robert Kraft as he always does, and then he said he’ll meet with the rest of his staff to begin the process of what he called a “reconstruction.”
Obviously, one roadblock is going to be what ownership ultimately decides to do, which could clearly change things. Fox spent much of Sunday’s game repeatedly bringing up a report by Jay Glazer, who indicated that Belichick’s days in New England are likely over. Glazer said on Sunday it’s just a matter of whether or not “they fire him, or trade him.”
A trade feels unlikely, as Belichick likely isn’t going to want to start a tenure with a new team down a big piece of currency. Everyone knows how much he values draft picks, even if they’ve come up on the wrong end of a few selections in recent years. Still, he also made it clear on Monday that this organization is one he’s “heavily invested in,” and he’s prepared to continue here.
As a result, he doesn’t sound ready to leave, and if that decision is out of his hands, it would be a surprise if he doesn’t dig his heels in.
2) Part of the reason Belichick probably wants to stay is likely the uncertainty it would potentially cause to both of his sons, who are each on the coaching staff. His departure would likely put both of their futures in jeopardy, and both have families and responsibilities that would obviously be affected.
According to Albert Breer, Steve has a good relationship with fellow coach Jerod Mayo, so there’s some belief that if Mayo was elevated, Steve might be the one who is kept on.
Either would likely get an opportunity to move on with their dad if that is, in fact, what ultimately transpires. But it sounded on Monday like Belichick is prepared to make a push to ensure he gets one more opportunity to right the ship heading into 2024.
(PHOTO:Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
3) If that’s not what happens, the next question is going to be whether or not Belichick decides to entertain offers elsewhere or how that might look.
One issue discussed locally as of late is the fact his staff has suffered some hits in recent years, with a good portion of it moving on when Josh McDaniels was hired in Las Vegas to become the head coach of the Raiders.
McDaniels was, interestingly enough, on hand during Sunday’s finale against the Jets. That one raises an eyebrow as it’s doubtful there would be an opportunity on his current staff from an offensive standpoint, save for maybe as a quarterbacks coach.
The more likely option may be as his future offensive coordinator elsewhere. Bill O’Brien appears fully entrenched here and is loyal to both Belichick and Robert Kraft, which would likely see him stay on with Mayo if that’s ultimately what unfolded.
Having been let go midseason in Las Vegas, McDaniels has been fairly quiet since then and the most logical move would be for him to jump back into the water with his old coach as he looks to at least continue his career in the NFL.
4) If he’s ultimately let go, where Belichick might end up would be the next big question, and the hammer has already started to fall around the league. Both Washington’s Ron Rivera and Atlanta’s Arthur Smith are both already out of a job, creating two potential openings.
The opening in Washington is obviously intriguing given Belichick’s affinity for that organization, while the Falcons could potentially be thinking that after having seeing their future upended by him thanks to that historic Super Bowl loss, the logical move would be to throw everything they have at him to right what’s been a sinking ship in recent years.
Having fired Brendan Staley a couple of weeks ago, the Chargers remain another interesting destination. Los Angeles struggled defensively all season and also couldn’t get much going offensively. We all know how good Belichick is as a defensive coach, and there’s no question that McDaniels has done a good job with young quarterbacks during his tenure here, which could help Justin Herbert.
While McDaniels’ success hasn’t necessarily translated as a head coach, we’ve seen enough names come out of here (Jacoby Brissett, Jimmy Garoppolo, among others) where he’s done a good job in helping them develop players.
5) In the meantime, the key question is also going to be whether or not Kraft gives Belichick one more go here, which doesn’t feel likely at this point. However, it’s clear Belichick isn’t ready to go down without making a case for another season.
“I’m under contract,” Belichick said on Monday. “I’m going to do what I always do, which is every day I come in, work as hard as I can to help the team in whatever way I can, so that’s what I’m going to continue to do.”
With the third pick in the draft and a host of needs, this is definitely going to be a critical offseason for the Patriots. Belichick’s proven that he still knows how to coach and it’s possible that he finally recognizes that he’s got a bit of a blindspot on the offensive side of things, and that he may be better served at his age to follow Andy Reid’s lead and just let someone else put in the effort when it comes to personnel.
Given his comments on Monday, it sounds like he’s open to it. “I’m for whatever collectively we decide as an organization is the best thing to help our football team,” when asked about that topic during his press conference.
Maybe that humility gives him one more shot to run it back, and maybe it doesn’t. But either way, it’s shaping up to be an interesting offseason, and no matter how it ultimately turns out, you can’t argue what he’s meant to this region and this fan base as a head coach during his tenure.
The problem is, the standard he set was high enough that what transpired this season didn’t obviously come close to those expectations. Unfortunately, that will likely be a big part of the discussions and may work against him when he does ultimately sit down with ownership to discuss his future.
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
