10 January 2023 , 21:16
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New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has been warned that owner Robert Kraft will not allow the Super Bowl champion to continue delaying retirement if results do not follow.
On Monday, Belichick - who is the NFL’s longest-tenured coach, told reporters he plans to return for his 24th season in charge of the Patriots in Foxborough. His decision comes after the Pats’ 2022 season ended in a 35-23 loss to the inspired Buffalo Bills, who played with emotion following Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest last week.
Belichick is considered by many the greatest coach in NFL history, masterminding the Patriots dynasty that spanned two decades and six Super Bowl wins with quarterback Brady. Since Brady left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, Belichick has led the Patriots to the playoffs just once, where they fell to their rival Buffalo Bills at the first hurdle.
Last offseason, owner Robert Kraft suggested he wasn’t happy the Pats had not won a playoff game since the Super Bowl LIII triumph over the Los Angeles Rams in February 2019. The pair are reportedly set for a ‘standard operating procedure’ meeting to discuss both Belichick’s and the Patriots’ future after failing to reach the postseason once again.
However, Belichick hardly shrouded himself in glory in 2022. The 70-year-old’s poor decision-making left the Pats with woeful offensive staff as the unit stagnated and sharply declined after a promising 2021 season in which the team reached the playoffs.
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Sports personality Skip Bayless, who courted controversy recently regarding Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest, believes Belichick deserves scrutiny for the Patriots’ poor season. Speaking on his Fox Sports show ‘Undisputed’, Bayless told co-host Shannon Sharpe that Belichick cannot stay in New England for as long as he pleases, even after accounting for all his unparalleled career achievements.
Bill Belichick led the New England Patriots to an 8-9 record (Joshua Bessex/AP/REX/Shutterstock)“He can't do that. Robert Kraft will not allow that,” Bayless said. “He's the keeper of the kingdom and at some point he's going to have to make a very hard call here.
“I said from the start it was 75% Brady and 25% Belichick, and I believe slowly but surely Belichick has been exposed. He can't build a football team. This team has been badly coached, to me.”
When considering the erroneous offensive coaching hires, Bayless added: “What was that about? I'm convinced he wanted his hands in the offence to polish his genius of being able to do both sides of the ball.”
Belichick - who, along with Kraft and Brady, formed the key pillars of the Patriots dynasty - is largely considered the greatest coach in NFL history. In his career as head coach, Belichick has 329 victories (including playoffs) which places him second for the most in NFL history behind Don Shula’s record of 347.