New England Patriots fans are concerned about Tom Brady‘s future, as he will be a free agent in March. However, it’s also possible the team could be without head coach Bill Belichick when the 2020 season kicks off. After the Patriots’ loss to the Tennessee Titans in the wild-card round of the playoffs on Saturday night, Boston Sports Journal‘s Greg Bedard talked about rumors of Belichick possibly leaving the team this offseason.
“There have been increasing NFL rumors that perhaps Belichick is not as wedded to Foxborough as many of us, certainly me, thought,” Bedard wrote via NESN. “Is Belichick setting up a final test on whether he has complete control of the football operations?
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“I think Belichick would be OK with Brady being back, but not at the expense of the rest of the team. There are four openings out there and they won’t last forever. If Belichick is contemplating a move, it would have to come soon. There’s no solid intel, but some rumblings I hadn’t heard before. So I don’t rule anything out. “For the record, my money is still on Bill and Tom being back together again for Year 21.”
Belichick leaving the Patriots is not being talked about as much as Brady leaving, because of the power he has in the organization. Not only is he the head coach, but he has control over football operations which makes him the general manager. Also, there aren’t too many head coaching positions open as teams who were looking for a head coach have made their hires, so if Belichick were to leave, he would have to wait another year to get back in the game.
That said, Belichick could retire if he feels like he’s done more than enough as a head coach. That’s likely not going to happen because he’s been coaching in the NFL for over 40 years. And with the team coming off a 12-4 record despite all the issues they were dealt with, Belichick would love to win another Super Bowl or two before he retires.
No matter what happens, Belichick is arguably the best coach in NFL history. Along with winning six Super Bowls, he has led to Patriots to nine Super Bowl appearances and he has won 31 playoffs games which rank first all-time. He also ranks third in regular-season wins with 273 behind Don Shula and George Halas.
