FOXBOROUGH – Bill Belichick future It remains up in the air as the Patriots coach waits to meet with team owner Robert Kraft. But Belichick was more open about his future during a video conference Monday morning than he was Sunday afternoon after the team meeting. 17-3 loss To the New York Jets.
Belichick declined to specify the date of his meeting with Kraft on Monday, adding that it could be a series of meetings with the Patriots owner. But he made it clear he wanted to stay in New England to fix the team.
“I am under contract and I will do what I always do: come every day and work as hard as I can to help the team in any way I can. That's what I will continue to do.” Belichick said.
Belichick added: “That's what I've always done and what I've done throughout my career. It's a lesson I learned from my father. That's not going to change.”
The Patriots finished 2023 4-13, the worst record of Belichick's coaching career. The Patriots have now missed the playoffs two years in a row and in three of the past four seasons. The Patriots have missed the playoffs just three times in the previous 20 seasons under Belichick.
While he was more talkative, Belichick didn't want to get into any assumptions on Monday. He did not say whether he would be open to training elsewhere. But he gave an answer when asked if he would be surprised if Kraft decided to move on from him after 24 seasons.
“I'm going to focus on what I'm going to control and focus on. That's my work ethic and what I can do to help the New England Patriots organization, which I'm very invested in,” Belichick said.
Belichick had complete control of New England's roster during his tenure, but he seemed open to the possibility of relinquishing some of that power.
“Look, I support anything we decide collectively as an organization to best help our football team. I have multiple roles in that and I rely on a lot of people to help me with those responsibilities,” he said. “Someone has to have the final say. But I have a lot of people helping me. Whatever this process is, I'm just a part of it.”
Belichick made it clear that he remains fully committed to the Patriots and is doing everything he can to get the team back into contention. We'll now wait to see if Robert Kraft fully commits to his longtime head coach.
