Are the New England Patriots about to fire head coach Bill Belichick?

It’s no secret that the Patriots are struggling this year. Indeed, the pressure was already on the team and its decorated head coach long before Sunday’s loss. The question now isn’t so much whether he can turn things around, but rather will it even matter if he does?

Bill Belichick’s future is uncertain

On Sunday, the New England Patriots dropped to 2-7 following a 20-17 loss to the Washington Commanders. Given that the pressure has been on head coach Bill Belichick since Week 5 when the Pats stood at 1-4, it goes without saying that it is now at an immense level. Indeed, During an appearance on The Greg Hill Show on Monday, Belichick was asked directly about his job security as well as a video that circulated on social media which appeared to show Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his son Jonathan saying, “We’re not good enough” during the game against the Commanders. In response to the talk of the video, Belichick was cold and concise. “You’d have to ask them about what they said.” Where his job security is concerned, he wasn’t much more expressive saying in typical fashion, “I’m going to control what I can control and get ready for the Colts.”

Is the critique of Bill Belichick unfair?

Are we talking about arguably the greatest coach in NFL history? Yes. At 71 years old, Belichick has recorded six Super Bowl wins, an NFL-record 31 career playoff victories and 331 regular season wins, numbers that few have come close to since his tenure in New England began back in 2000. Yet the reality is, that things have not been good over the last few years. Since Tom Brady’s exodus in 2020, the team has downright struggled, and that’s something that Bills owner, Robert Kraft is understandably not happy about.

Indeed, we presented proof of that in our previous report on the topic where sources had this to say: “There’s a school of thought that suggests Bill Belichick has earned the right to go out on his own accord, that the architect of the greatest dynasty in NFL history can coach in New England as long as he chooses. ...Kraft doesn’t subscribe to it.” This is all to say that while there is an argument to be made that patience should be exhibited given what Belichick has given New England and the NFL itself.

On the other hand, the business of football as is the case with any high-level professional sport is about achievement, not sentiment. When one fails to do that win, and moreover on a consistent basis, it’s normally only a matter of time before dismissal occurs. Consider for a moment that two of the team’s losses this season rank as the worst of his entire career, including a 38-3 loss to the Cowboys which was followed by a 34-0 loss to the Saints in Week 5 - the worst ever home loss he has suffered. Ultimately, there has been no indication from the franchise as to whether Belichick will continue to be coach, but one has to believe that questions are being asked about whether that should be the case.