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By Thomas Westerholm
Life & Trends Reporter
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A decade ago, the idea that Bill Belichick might find himself on the hot seat with the New England Patriots would have been seen as ridiculous.
But a decade ago, Tom Brady played for the team and New England was perennially in the mix as Super Bowl contenders. In 2023, the Patriots find themselves 2-7 and last in the AFC East after a loss to the Washington Commanders in Week 9. They are no longer in any realistic playoff discussion, third-year quarterback Mac Jones seems unhappy, and, according to The Boston Globe, their future Hall-of-Fame coach might not finish the season with his job.
Per Ben Volin, it is "increasingly likely" that this is Belichick's last season with the team. But the report, which came out Friday, went a step further, saying that the Patriots' two games before their bye week are "huge."
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"If Belichick loses at home to the Commanders and then to the Colts, and comes home from Germany with a 2-8 record, I think there's a chance the Krafts could make the move in the bye week and install Jerod Mayo as the interim coach for the final seven games," Volin wrote two days before the Patriots fell to the Commanders 20-17.
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Newsweek has reached out to the Patriots via email for comment regarding Belichick's status with the team.
Belichick seems to have fallen out of favor with the organization in recent years as the Patriots struggled to get back to their winning ways following Brady's exodus to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. Volin reported that if Belichick is fired, Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel is considered a "home-run choice" to succeed him by the Kraft family, which owns the team.
If Belichick is let go, it will signal the end of perhaps the most successful run in NFL history. Belichick and the Patriots won six Super Bowls with Brady, and Belichick has won 300 games as the team's head coach.
But few of those 300 wins have come over the last three seasons, as the Patriots made the playoffs just once since Brady left. With a 10-7 record, they made the wild-card round in 2021 but lost to the Buffalo Bills.
The morning after falling to the Commanders, Belichick addressed reporters and was asked if he had received any assurances about his job security from ownership.
"I'm going to control what I can control and get ready for the Colts," Belichick answered.
The reporter followed up, asking Belichick whether he believes he could be coaching for his job.
"I'm going to control what I can control and get ready for the Colts," Belichick repeated.
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