With the New England Patriots’ 2023 NFL season winding down, and the staff already eradicated from the playoffs, there are two massive questions dealing with their future. One has to do with the quarterback place, as Mac Jones — the staff’s first spherical decide in 2021 — as been benched in favor of Bailey Zappe.
The opposite? The standing of Invoice Belichick.
One of many recreation’s biggest coaches and defensive minds, Belichick has delivered six Tremendous Bowl titles to Foxborough. However with the staff sitting at 3-10, and having missed out on the playoffs now in a second-straight season, Belichick’s future with the group was rising cloudier by the day.
Now, based on a minimum of one report, the staff and the coach are set to half methods on the finish of the season. In keeping with Tom Curran of NBC Sports activities Boston, the choice was made by proprietor Robert Kraft after an embarrassing loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Germany, a loss that highlighted subpar play on the quarterback place. Right here’s Curran’s full report:
In Germany Jones and the New England offense had been in place for a go-ahead landing late, however that’s when the third-year passer did this:
Jones was benched in favor of Zappe for New England’s remaining possession, which additionally resulted in an interception.
In keeping with Curran, this loss was the ultimate straw, in Kraft’s thoughts.
“Once they got here out of [the 10-6 loss to the Colts on Nov. 12 in] Germany, conversations I had that week made it very clear {that a} resolution was made,” mentioned Curran on Monday. “They had been going to play out the string, and on the finish of the 12 months, there could be a parting of the methods for quite a lot of causes.”
Curran additionally famous that the staff’s current win in primetime towards the Pittsburgh Steelers, with Zappe on the helm, was merely a matter of too little, too late.
“It had gone too far,” he defined. “The Germany recreation. The Commanders recreation. The Saints recreation. All big, marquee video games. After which there was the Chargers recreation after that.
“Simply because they received final week in Pittsburgh in primetime, I don’t suppose it quells something.”
The last word rigidity may be between Kraft, and Belichick the final supervisor. Whereas Belichick as a coach stays one of many recreation’s finest, the roster selections from Belichick the GM the previous few years have made life harder on his head coach self.
Take, for instance, their 2019 draft class. They drafted N’Keal Harry on the finish of the primary spherical, and cornerback JoeJuan Williams within the second. However none of their picks from that 12 months are nonetheless with the staff.
Then there may be the number of Jones, fifteenth total within the 2021 NFL Draft.
While you miss on a whole draft class — as they did in 2019 — after which miss on a quarterback two years later, it’s going to set you again. Maybe Kraft asks Belichick to surrender GM duties, and possibly he agrees.
And possibly he doesn’t.
In fact, nothing is remaining till we hear from possession, and Belichick has a 12 months left on the contract extension he signed final offseason. This might be the beginning of a negotiating ploy, maybe with New England seeking to in the end deal Belichick to a different group.
Nonetheless, this provides extra gasoline to the hearth that’s the Patriots’ 2023 season.
