Getty Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots walks the sidelines.
W
hile no one knows when New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick will call it quits, one NFL Insider talked about how the organization will look when Belichick does decide to retire.
Belichick can’t coach the Patriots forever. The head coach is approaching his 70th birthday, and his career is nearing its end.
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While no one knows when Belichick will call it quits, one NFL Insider talked about how the organization will look when Belichick does decide to retire.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer appeared on “The Rich Eisen Show” and talked about how things will look when Belichick does decide to step away from the team.
“I think whenever he leaves he’s gonna wanna leave it in good shape,” Breer told Eisen. “One thing I can remember from covering him on the beat, and this is years ago, was he — I remember he felt like Bill Parcells, who obviously had been his boss, had left a couple of teams in pretty rough shape. I think there was sort of this resolve whenever he left New England, he wasn’t going to do that.”
The State of New England
At the moment, the Patriots are on the path to rebuilding their squad. Mac Jones showed last season that he is more than a capable NFL quarterback who can lead New England. The 23-year-old threw for 3,801 yards along with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions last season.
New England also has one of the best running backs in the entire league. Damien Harris ran for 929 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2021 and was tied for second in the NFL with his touchdown output.
The Patriots also improved at the wide receiver position this offseason. DeVante Parker appears to be New England’s top wide receiver after he was acquired via trade.
While Parker is coming off a down season where he only tallied 40 receptions for 515 yards and two touchdowns, he is only 29 years old.
The defensive side of the ball is a slightly different story. New England lost J.C. Jackson and right now his replacement appears to be Malcolm Butler who signed with the Patriots this offseason.
Besides the addition of Mack Wilson and Butler, New England’s defense has relatively stayed the same with the likes of Ja’Whaun Bentley and Devin McCourty returning to the squad.
So while the Patriots are in a decent spot, there is still work to be done.
The Drive to Beat Brady
Breer also mentioned that Belichick still has a point to prove even after six Super Bowl Rings.
“He wasn’t going to walk away from a team when it wasn’t in better shape than when he found it. I do think he’s driven to prove he can win without (Tom) Brady and win at a high level without Brady. I do think he wants to leave it — whoever he’s leaving it to, whether that’s Bill O’Brien or Matt Patricia or whoever it is that winds up succeeding him — I think he wants to leave it in good shape for whoever is the succeeding coach after him.”
According to Breer, winning another Super Bowl isn’t a requirement for Belichick. The head coach will need to balance wanting to win at a high level without Brady while also building for the future.
But Patriots fans shouldn’t expect Belichick to mortgage the future of the organization just to try and win one last Super Bowl. He wants to make sure New England is in a good place before he decides to call it quits and end his legendary career.