During his Friday press conference in Frankfurt, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick admitted to the gathered global media that he was “running on fumes.”
While Belichick was talking specifically about his energy level after arriving in Germany for Sunday’s game against the Colts, the comment could have just as easily been a description of the New England season that sits at 2-7 just past the midpoint of the schedule.
Or worse, “running on fumes” could even be legitimately used to describe Belichick’s legendary coaching career that’s sputtering in his glacial pursuit of Don Shula’s all-time wins record as he approaches his 72nd birthday.
All good things come to an end. And tail-spinning toward his third straight season without a playoff berth and the Patriots’ worst record since 2000, Belichick’s tenure in New England is trending in the direction of a rather unceremonious conclusion.
The end is near. But the end is not yet here. Nor should it be.
Sure it’s easy to put two and eight together and come up with a Belichick firing being a possibility heading into a bye-week return from Germany if things don’t go well Sunday against the very much mediocre Gardner Minshew-led Colts.
It’s a somewhat reasonable potential step in the three-plus-year process that’s been the dismantling and downfall of the Patriots dynasty.
But beyond giving angry Patriots fans that have lost their way the flesh they may desire at this point, it actually would make little to no sense to move on from Belichick at any point prior to the conclusion of this 2023 season, almost regardless of how ugly and unproductive things get on the field.
Fire Belichick? To what end?
Obviously moving on from one of the handful of greatest coaches in NFL history in the middle of a season would be a less than desirable conclusion to a Hall of Fame career. It would tarnish his exit, even if not his overall legend. No, he’s not earned the right to decide when he’s finished. He’s not earned the right to a job for as long as he wants it. But he probably has earned the right to finish the season.
And who would lead the team over the final two months? The most likely candidate is Jerod Mayo, who many believe may even be the coach-in-waiting. After all Robert Kraft did say just this past spring of Mayo, “He’ll be a head coach. I’m sure of that. I hope, you know, he’s with us.”
If that’s the case and the Kraft Family wants Mayo to actually succeed as Belichick’s successor, throwing him to the wolves in the middle of this dismal season is a world away from being ideal even if with the interim tag.
If the Krafts believe in Mayo, they don’t need to see some trial run during a trying season. And more damage than good could be done.
Even if you are one of those growing numbers of New England faithful that’s now hopeful of the team acquiring the highest pick possible in next April’s NFL Draft, the potential short-term bump from a coaching change – think the Raiders in recent weeks or Jeff Saturday’s Colts a year ago – might actually hurt the franchise’s long term plan for a return to stability. A win or two this November or December equals a loss next spring.
Oh, and if that Pro Football Talk rumor regarding a theoretical to Washington has even a shred of validity, that possibility dissipates with an in-season firing.
So, as Belichick himself seemed to do upon his arrival in Germany for a matchup with the Colts on an international stage that came more than a decade too late in the once-worldly rivalry driven by star QBs, Patriots fans might just have to grin and bear whatever comes in the coming weeks on the field.
The greatest Patriots coach of all time. One of the greatest football winners of all time. Arguably the most capable leader of his generation is literally and figuratively “running on fumes” these days. But those fumes should get Belichick to the finish line of the 2023 season and, at that point, possibly the close of his coaching career.
It really is in the best interests of the football team, whether it feels that way or not.
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