Bill Belichick’s Time In New England Coming To An End?

By Jordan Long

The New England Patriots are in the midst of one of their worst seasons in recent memory.  They stand at 3-10, last place in the AFC East Division.  They look to improve their record on Sunday when they face Kansas City.  Rumors are swirling that Head Coach Bill Belichick will be fired following their last game of the season on January 7th against the Jets.

            Belichick has been with the New England Patriots since 2000.  In that span, he has become one of the best coaches in NFL history.  Going into Sunday, his record as Patriots’ Head Coach is an outstanding 265-118, a winning percentage of .692.   Belichick coached New England to the playoffs 18 times while advancing to 9 Super Bowls.  New England won 6 of those Super Bowls.

            This season has been one to forget.  According to CBSsports.com, Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston said, “When they came out of Germany, conversations I had that week made it very clear that a decision was made and they were going to play out the string, and at the end of the year, there would be a parting of the ways for a variety of reasons.”

Looking at the defensive numbers this year, they are pretty good. Belichick is a defensive minded Head Coach.  New England is 8^th in total yards, allowing 306.9 yards per game.  Teams are having a difficult time passing on this defense.  New England permits 218.8 yards per game through the air.  Teams gain 88.2 yards per game on the ground, the 3^rd least in the NFL.  New England allows 20.9 points per game.  Just looking at that, Belichick should keep his job.

            The problem is Belichick is the Head Coach and oversees the whole team.  The offense is why New England is going to move on.  They rank 28^th in total offense, gaining 291.4 yards per game.  Through the air, they pass for 189.5 yards per game, 25^th in the NFL. When running the football, they rush for 101.9 yards per game, 22^nd in the NFL.  It hasn’t helped that Belichick has changed quarterbacks this year.  Mac Jones started 11 games for New England with a disappointing record of 2-9.  Bailey Zappe has also seen action under center and his record is 1-1.

            New England will finish up the year with Belichick as Head Coach.  After the season ends, Black Monday on January 8^th is probably when owner Robert Kraft will make his final decision. All signs point to a new head coach leading this team in 2024.