Is Bill Belichick about to coach his final game for the New England Patriots?
The Patriots are getting set to wrap up their regular season when they take on the New York Jets this weekend, and rumors have been swirling that Belichick and New England could part company this offseason.
However, Belichick is choosing not to focus on his future.
“Whatever success I have had, I’ve tried to go about my job the same way every week — win, lose, good years, bad years, whatever they are,” Belichick said on The Greg Hill Show on WEEI (via Mike Reiss of ESPN). “Each week, get ready to go for that week, do the best you can to help your team win, and after that game move on to the next one. And at the end of the season, that’s the end of the season.”
It’s hardly a surprising response from Belichick, who has sidestepped the barrage of questions about his status with the Pats all season long.
“But on a week-to-week basis, I don’t want to spend time, or get caught up in what happened five years ago, or what’s going to happen two years from now, and a bunch of other random stuff,” added Belichick. “Just working on the Jets. … I’m committed to the team that I’m coaching right now, the players that are here. They deserve my best every day and that’s what I’m going to give them.”
The Patriots have gone just 4-12 this season, which is already good for Belichick’s worst record as head coach of the franchise. He went 5-11 in his first year at the helm back in 2000.
Belichick has certainly forged a legendary career in Foxborough, leading the team to six Super Bowl championships, nine Super Bowl appearances and 17 AFC East division titles.
However, since Tom Brady departed via free agency in March 2020, Belichick and the Pats have fallen on hard times, making the playoffs just once in four years. The Patriots have also not won a playoff game since last winning the Super Bowl in February 2019.
Overall, Belichick has gone 333-177—including playoffs—through 24 seasons in New England.
We’ll see if Bill Belichick and the Patriots do in fact go their separate ways this offseason.
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