Bill Belichick's future with the New England Patriots up in the air
It looks as though the New England Patriots are considering whether to move on from legendary coach Bill Belichick.
While the 71-year-old is considered by many, along with names like Vince Lombardi and Don Shula, as one of the greatest coaches in NFL history, things haven't been going well in recent times.
After missing the playoffs last season, the Patriots currently sit with a 1-5 record which puts them at real risk of missing out on postseason football again this year.
Patriots are considering Belichick's future
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Given the teams struggles, it appears the Patriots are having talks over what to do with Belichick according to Sports Illustrated's Albert Bremer.
The NFL Insider is based in New England, and he was asked whether New England owner Robert Kraft and his son Jonathan would consider firing Belichick during a recent appearance on "The Herd".
"These discussions have taken place, and I can tell you for sure, I mean, Robert hears the criticism," Breer stated when asked the question by host Colin Cowherd.
"He hears the anger locally, and people in the building know for a fact that he's hearing the anger from the fan base, and he's very cognizant of where his team is in the pecking order of NFL teams as well.
"They're not a marquee team anymore, and he took a lot of pride in them being a marquee team for two decades, right up there with teams like the Cowboys, like the Eagles, like the Giants had been traditionally. So I think there's all of that that sort of plays into this."
Patriots looking to the future
Breer added fuel to the fire by stating that New England have been working on a succession plan since the offseason.
"The discussions about the future of the franchise actually do go back to January and February when they were sitting down with Jerod Mayo, their de facto defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, and they got him to turn down an interview with the Panthers. The best thing for his career probably was to take that interview," Breer said.
"So the discussions of where this goes post-Belichick have been underway for a while, and I think regardless of how this year went, I think there was going to be a discussion about the structure of the franchise and potentially changing the personnel department.
"[They're asking the question] 'Do we bring in a general manager or promote someone to general manager and see if Bill wants to work with him?'
"I think now we're at the point where, is this just going to be a flat-out firing?, and do they want to go forward with the current program?, and what does that mean for Jerod Mayo?"
"I think those bigger-picture discussions are now part of it. But the discussions of where they are post-Belichick have been going on for a while. And again, back in January and February, it included Jerod Mayo."
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