4 Patriots on Thin Ice After Week 10 Loss to Colts
• The genius coach might be done
• Did Mac Jones los his job?
By Randy Gurzi
2. Bill Belichick, Head Coach
Bill Belichick has been the head coach of the Patriots for 24 seasons. In that time, he's won six Super Bowls and has a record of 264-115 in the regular season (plus 30-12 in the playoffs). The problem is, he's been a different coach since Tom Brady left.
While Brady won another title with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Belichick has orchestrated just one winning season in his absence. This weekend, his team fell to 2-8 which means he's now just 27-33. While that record is less than ideal, they were at least competitive until this year. Heading into New England's bye week, this is the worst team he's had in 40 years.
The Patriots are 2-8.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) November 12, 2023
It's the first time a Bill Belichick-coached team has been six games under .500 since 2000. Belichick has never been seven games under .500 as a head coach, not even in Cleveland. Last time he was seven games under .500 period was with the 1983 Giants.
Belichick's job security was already a question before this game and with the letdown against the Colts, the calls for a change will only grow louder. Their offense is a mess and even the defense, which is typically Belichick's calling card, is in the bottom half of the league.
Making matters worse is the head coach's issues with finding pass-catchers. For some reason, Belichick has continued to whiff on wideouts in both the draft and free agency. The Smith-Schuster move is the latest example of Belichick failing to get his quarterback a No. 1 wideout.
It's always tough to see an elite coach start to struggle, but that's what's happening here. Belichick has done enough for this franchise that he deserves to finish out the season, but there's no way he can come back in 2024. Not unless New England wins all of its games after the bye, which seems highly unlikely.