Bill Belichick sent worrying 'end of the road' warning as NFL career in balance
Bill Belichick has been warned he may never be an NFL head coach again after his legendary run with the New England Patriots came to an end after the 2023 season.
The Pats dynasty - fuelled by the trifecta of Belichick, quarterback Tom Brady, and owner Rob Kraft - is regarded as one of the greatest in sports history. New England reached the Super Bowl on nine occasions, winning six championships during that period as well as 16 AFC East division titles.
However, New England struggled once Brady left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with the quarterback sensationally winning Super Bowl LV before retiring in February 2023. Without Brady, Belichick went 29-38 with the Pats, missing the playoffs in three of four years.
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The Patriots languished to a 4-13 record in 2023 and the poor season meant Belichick stepped down as head coach and de facto general manager, spelling the end of his historic run with the franchise. The 71-year-old is now set to enter the NFL season without a coaching role of any capacity for the first time since 1975 - and former NFL executive Marc Ross would not be surprised if Belichick is never an NFL head coach again.
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“As far as a head coach,” Ross told TMZ Sports. “Yeah, I think this might be the end of the road for him. If he wants to take a step back and be a coordinator, that might be something down the line. We’ve seen great head coaches go be coordinators, but will he want to do that?
"That’s the situation for him. What really happened was it was Bill Belichick the name and rings and you can’t dismiss what he’s done in the league but when you’re a team and looking at all the different factors about bringing him in there, that throws a lot of things out of whack.”
Bill Belichick narrowly missed out on the Atlanta Falcons head coach position, leaving him out of work heading into the 2024 season (Getty Images)Famously, no NFL coach demands more of his players than defensive mastermind Belichick, and his no-nonsense, business-like method meshed effectively with Brady’s unrelenting dedication to his craft. The duo forged the most successful quarterback-head coach tandem in NFL history, but Belichick’s struggles to adequately replace the quarterback and have success without Brady leaves the coach vulnerable to criticism.
In his 24 years as Patriots head coach, Belichick - a three-time AP Coach of the Year - won 266 regular season games. Including his five seasons in charge of the Cleveland Browns, Belichick is just 26 wins away from Don Shula's all-time mark of 328 but Ross is uncertain if he will even get the opportunity to add to his historic tally.
Ross added: “I think, unfortunately, the head coaching career could be over for Belichick but there may be something on the cards for him if he wants to do that.”
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