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Ahead of what could be his final game as head coach of the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick declined to answer any questions about his future on Tuesday.
During an appearance on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show (h/t ESPN’s Mike Reiss), Belichick explained players “deserve my best every day” in response to multiple inquiries about why he doesn’t want to talk about what might happen:
“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. 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.
“But on a week-to-week basis, I don’t want to spend time, or get caught up in what happened 5 years ago, or what’s going to happen 2 years from now, and a bunch of other random stuff. 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.”
There’s been speculation about Belichick’s future with the Patriots for months. Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston reported on Dec. 11 the “decision was made” to move on from the future Hall-of-Fame head coach following New England’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Germany.
“They were going to play out the string,” Curran said, “and at the end of the year there would be a parting of the ways, for a variety of reasons.
Nothing has been confirmed either by Belichick or the Patriots at this point. It was reported in October that he signed a “lucrative, multiyear” contract extension during the offseason, but NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport later noted the deal only runs through the 2024 season.
Ian Rapoport @RapSheet
From @NFLGameDay Kickoff: On #Patriots coach Bill Belichick, his future, and what may come next… pic.twitter.com/436bjgo1zw
Belichick is the longest-tenured active head coach in the NFL. The 71-year-old is in his 24th season with the Patriots. Mike Tomlin, John Harbaugh and Pete Carroll are the only other coaches who have been with the same team for at least 10 seasons.
There is an argument for Belichick as the greatest coach in league history. He’s won more Super Bowl titles (six) than anyone else and ranks second in combined wins between the regular season and playoffs (333), trailing only Don Shula with 347.
But in the four seasons since Tom Brady left the Patriots, Belichick has struggled to maintain that same level of success. The team has a 29-37 record with one playoff appearance since 2020.
This season has been the worst of Belichick’s tenure in New England. The Patriots’ 12 losses are their most in a single season since 1992 (2-14). They will finish last in the AFC East for the first time since Belichick’s debut season in 2000.
Belichick and the Patriots will wrap up the 2023 season hosting the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium. New England hasn’t lost to its division rival since Week 16 of the 2015 season.
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