The New England Patriots went overseas in Week 10 to play in Germany against the Indianapolis Colts. Alas, the change in venue didn’t help at all on the field as they faced the same fate they had while in North America; a loss.
The Patriots lost 10-6 to the Colts, dropping their record to 2-8 on the season. It was the third time in the last seven games the offense failed to score a touchdown as things have gotten as bad as they have ever been during the Bill Belichick era.
Questions are now starting to pop up about the future of Belichick as the team’s head coach. Could owner Robert Kraft look to make a move during the team’s bye in Week 11, giving another person some time to acclimate themselves to the role as head coach?
Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated believes that is certainly a possibility. Shared via NBC Boston, he revealed how things could unfold for the Patriots ahead of their Week 12 game against the New York Giants.
“I think, honestly, if I’m Robert Kraft right now, I may go to Bill and say, ‘How do you want to do this?’ I think it’s gotten to that point where they should be able to sit down and level with each other and say, ‘Do you want to sever it now and let Jerod Mayo coach out the season? Do you want to go to the end of the season and we can announce it in December and have a nice ceremony for you for the last home game, or do you want to do this the hard way? And we get to the end of the year and then I’ve got to make a decision on you one way or the other.’”
What that decision will be is anyone’s guess. Belichick reportedly signed an extension with the franchise over the offseason, which will only complicate matters moving forward. There is no easy way to move on from one of the best head coaches in NFL history.
But, as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. For the Patriots and Belichick, their working relationship seems to have run its course. Six Super Bowl championships have given him a lot of leash to work with, but any head coach who misses the playoffs in three out of four seasons, punctuated by one of the worst performances in franchise history, will find themselves on the hot seat.
Should the Patriots move on from Belichick, there is a good chance that he will be coaching somewhere else in the league next season. Breer believes there could be as many as 10 openings and some, such as the Dallas Cowboys or Washington Commanders, could pique his interest.
Bringing Belichick on board, however, will have its hurdles as well. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported over the weekend if a team hires him, Kraft is expecting to receive some kind of compensation in return.
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