The Belichick Bind: Is it time for the New England Patriots to finally move on?

One of the most difficult scenarios for a franchise to navigate is handling an aging star. When past performance has been sensational, but future considerations also have to be considered, owners are put in a tricky situation. This is precisely the predicament New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft finds himself in, as he mulls over whether or not to part ways with Bill Belichick.

The NFL coaching ranks have gotten a lot younger in the past decade, as teams are looking for creative thinkers to lead organizations. Belichick’s experience, especially on defense, maintains his value even in this day and age, but it’s fair to wonder whether the Patriots would be better off with a refresh.

Belichick has accomplished just about everything a coach could ever want, except for one thing. He’s hoping to catch Don Shula to set an all-time mark for NFL coaching wins. That chase has been slowed to a crawl in recent years, but Belichick seems to be intent on coaching for a few more years to get the record.

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Remarkably, Belichick has served as the Patriots’ head coach and general manager, which is something incredibly difficult to pull off. The reality is, he hasn’t really been performing competently in the player evaluation department, which has left New England without many blue chip prospects to build around.

Simply put, New England’s offense has not been up to par since the departure of Tom Brady. In 2022, Belichick made the bizarre decision to let Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, two non-offensive coaches, call players. He tried to rectify the decision by bringing Bill O’Brien in this season, but that hasn’t made much of a difference.

Since Kraft bought the Patriots in 1994, winning has pretty much been all he’s ever known. He has Belichick to thank for that in large part, so that longstanding gratitude can’t be summarily dismissed. However, Kraft has ample justification to make a move, considering that New England will finish with one of the worst records in the NFL this season.

What Belichick wants may go under the radar in this situation. There’s a chance that he may want out of New England to seize an opportunity with an organization that is better suited to win now. The Los Angeles Chargers recently fired head coach Brandon Staley, and Belichick may relish the chance to work with Justin Herbert.

It’s also entirely possible that Kraft and Belichick reach a compromise. It’s unrealistic to expect anyone to excel as both a coach and general manager in 2023, so the Patriots might bring in an experienced general manager to shape the roster, while leaving Belichick as head coach. It remains to be seen whether Belichick would be amenable to that, or want hiring influence in that scenario.

It’s legitimately difficult to guess what the Patriots will do with Belichick at season’s end. Given their stellar track record from 2000-2020, it seems like the preference might be to let Belichick stay, but make alterations to the structure of the organization. This will be one of the key storylines NFL fans monitor during the offseason.