The New England Patriots may decide to part ways with Bill Belichick in the near future, but there is a chance the head coach could put his longtime employer in a difficult situation.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote in his insider column on Wednesday that Patriots owner Robert Kraft does not want to fire Belichick. If there is a divorce, Kraft wants it to be a mutual split or at least look like one, that way he won’t have to fire arguably the greatest coach of all time.
In order for things to end that way, Belichick would have to cooperate. There is no guarantee that he will.
“The belief is team owner Robert Kraft is sensitive to the narrative that he’d fire one of the best coaches in history, so this will be handled delicately, which begs the question: What if Belichick doesn’t agree to an amicable split, placing the onus on Kraft to fire him or let him coach out his contract?” Fowler wrote. “That’s a question that might need to be answered in real time.”
Fowler added that he is “not sensing much momentum for a Belichick trade to a new team.”
Belichick is still under contract through at least 2024, which he made sure to point out during his season-ending press conference on Monday. He almost certainly is not going to resign, as the Patriots would not have to pay him if he did. The 71-year-old also would have to approve any trade to a new team.
It is still possible that Belichick could return to the Patriots next season, but the situation got even more interesting when a different head coach was fired on Tuesday.
Even with Belichick under contract, a trade seems unlikely. Belichick probably would prefer to stay with the Patriots. If Kraft is the one who wants to part ways but is hesitant to fire the coach, his options are very limited.
