Is it Time to Stick a Fork in Belichick, Is He Done in New England?

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Despite the Patriots' Week 14 win over the Steelers, a lot of fans are calling for Bill Belichick's firing, convinced the game has passed the soon-to-be 72-year-old coach bye, and there may be some truth to that. The game of football is constantly evolving, and shame on those stubborn head coaches who don't evolve along with it.

Other angry Patriots fans cite Belichick's record post-Brady (28-35) and with the Cleveland Browns before arriving in New England (36-44), for a total of 64-79 (44.7 win percentage), as a barometer of Belichick's actual coaching ability, and are willing to concede that the winning in New England "was all Brady". 

They must be forgetting that despite Brady's impact offensively and in the locker room, Belichick teams were strong defensively, on special teams, and were well-disciplined because that all falls on the head coach.

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Belichick's regular season record with Brady starting under center was 222-65 (77.35 win percentage). He won six Super Bowls during that stretch. Those are, without question, HOF numbers for both Brady and Belichick.

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So with the team's recent decline post-Brady, is it time to stick a fork in Belichick, is he done in New England? 

I don't believe the head coach should take all the blame for the recent failure of the Patriots to make the playoffs or even win games, believing the GM is more at fault, and that, unfortunately, is still Bill Belichick. The personnel taking the field on game day has simply not been up to the task. The whole Bill Parcells, “If they want you to cook the dinner, at least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries” thing has blown up in Belichick's face like a trick cigar. He's failed miserably in that department in recent years when his young quarterbacks have desperately needed quality receivers and good pass protection to gain some confidence and win some football games. 

And the players Belichick has let go have performed far better on their new teams, and that's got to be a bad reflection on the New England coaching staff. And the replacements Belichick signed are performing well below their expectations, and that's on him as well.

If I'm Bob Kraft and used to winning, I'd have to start making changes in order to keep my fan base happy, and the first individual on the chopping block would be the GM. 

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The question remains if next year, a 72-year-old head coach can work effectively with young players, especially a young quarterback drafted in the first round. If the Mac Jones experiment was any indication of how Bill works with young quarterbacks in the latter part of his career, I'd say he's not the right guy going forward…

The one unknown is whether it was Belichick who kept putting Mac Jones back under center, poor performance after poor performance, or if it was Kraft's decision. It would change everything if it came directly from Kraft…

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Kraft would be wise to secure the best Offensive and Defensive coordinators available, and a strong quarterbacks coach if he's going to keep Belichick as head coach in 2024. 

If Belichick is unwilling to surrender his position as GM in order to stay, then parting ways just became that much easier.

Everybody wants to leave their chosen profession on their own terms, especially if they've been successful, and just maybe Bill will choose to do the right thing and move on, making it a whole lot easier on everybody…