Bill Belichick is arguably the greatest coach in NFL history, but according to one insider, he has been on the hot seat for some time and the seat couldn’t be more hotter as we enter the 2023 season.
“He’s on the hot seat,” Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston said during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, “And he’s been there at different levels of warmth since 2019.”
Here’s the full segment:
Curran didn’t stop there, he also suggested that the Patriots have a successor in mind. Inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo would be “next in line” if the Pats do the unthinkable and part ways with Belichick.
“If they look disorganized, dysfunctional and discipline’s out the window, then they might say, ‘That was a great run, but can you go upstairs and just watch Jerod coach next year?'”
Mayo, a former Patriots player, has been the inside linebackers coach in New England since 2019.
There’s plenty to take away from Curran’s report. The 2019 timing is pretty eye-opening considering it was the last season Tom Brady was in New England. The departure of Brady had many believing it was Belichick’s way of trying to prove he could win without Brady after its was Brady who quarterbacked the Patriots to six Super Bowl titles.
Curran also hinted that Belichick’s pursuit of Don Shula’s record for most wins in NFL history is also playing a role in the situation. Belichick has 298 wins, while Shula finished his career with 328.
“I wonder if Belichick had already passed Shula or wasn’t even within hailing distance of Shula, if we would really have this kind of hand-wringing, ‘What do we do about Bill conversation?'” Curran said.
Things have not gone particularly well for New England since Brady’s departure to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he won a seventh career Super Bowl.
The team is a combined 25-25 the past three years with one playoff appearance and zero playoff wins. That would be solid for some organizations, but the Patriots reached the postseason 17 times with Brady at the helm and lifted more Lombardi Trophies than any other franchise.
