Earlier this week, reports emerged of the New England Patriots’ plans to move on from head coach/general manager Bill Belichick after 24 seasons. Despite winning six Super Bowls in that time, more than any other team in the same span of time, the Patriots no longer want Belichick in charge.
Now, we still don’t know exactly how that move will take place. It’s possible, yet hard to imagine, that Patriots owner Robert Kraft will fire Belichick. How does one fire arguably the greatest coach of all time?
Another option would be to trade Belichick to a franchise that can’t wait to see if the coaching legend can work his magic in another destination. Then again, we don’t even know if the 71-year-old wants to remain involved in football.
Then again, can anyone really envision Belichick spending his time on anything that isn’t related to football? Sure, there’s his love for lacrosse or his passion for the Navy, among other things, but The Hoodie eats, breathes, and sleeps football.
While the Patriots’ best option is likely to try and trade Belichick for an impressive haul of assets, some close to the situation don’t think the longtime New England coach will be very cooperative in such a scenario.
According to Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal, members inside the Patriots organization “find it unlikely” Belichick would agree to be traded. They add that the coach “won’t want to work with Kraft to reach an elegant solution.”
In other words, most expect this to end with Belichick being fired instead of traded, even though it wouldn’t benefit the Patriots at all.
“Belichick might agree to nice press release language about parting of the ways, but make no mistake: The odds are strong that this will end up being a firing at the end of the day,
Greg Bedard on New England Patriots parting with Bill Belichick
Technically, Belichick has one more year left on his contract, which should open him up to a trade, just like any NFL player under contract. However, Bedard’s sources added that a trade could still happen, but it may not come without some sort of adjustment to Belichick’s contract.
