Could Patriots Fire Bill Belichick After 2023?

If the New England Patriots do not make the playoffs, could they fire head coach Bill Belichick?

Could the outcome of the 2023 season for the New England Patriots be a make-or-break situation for head coach Bill Belichick? If the Patriots fail to make the postseason for a second-straight season, which would be three out of the last four since losing quarterback Tom Brady, what will happen to Belichick? 

It was a question posed in a recent article by Pro Football Talk, including a list of scenarios as to what comes next for Belichick if he is handed the pink slip. 

PFT obviously mentioned retirement, as the 70-year-old head coach has nothing left to prove maybe other than win a Super Bowl without Brady, but he has done it all certainly and could walk away. 

"The real question becomes whether another team would move immediately to hire him," PFT writes. "When a cluster of Steelers fans inevitably (and foolishly) gripes about coach Mike Tomlin during random periods of difficulty, the truth is that, if Tomlin were fired, he’d instantly have his pick of jobs."

Other teams mentioned were the Dallas Cowboys, whose head coach Mike McCarthy may also be on the hot seat after failures to advance past the NFC Divisional Round. But also the Cleveland Browns, a potentially fun way to end his career if he could turn around the franchise he once coached; the Los Angeles Chargers, the Washington Commanders, and even the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were also mentioned. 

But that's not all... 

"Then there are the Bills. They have quarterback Josh Allen. They have underachieved in recent years," PFT wrote. "Could the Bills empty out the organization and turn everything over to Belichick?"

Joining the Bills, a franchise he has owned in head-to-head matchups (36-10) historically with the Patriots, would be an intriguing plot twist and even a pro wrestling-styled 'heel turn.'

Watching Belichick pair up with Allen would give him an elite quarterback along with a defense that has been respectable under Sean McDermott, creating a potentially interesting partnership as they both chase a Super Bowl. 

As for New England, who'd come next? 

Offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien stands out as an immediate option; assuming all goes well in 2023 with the offense beyond him and inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo, a rising star on the Patriots coaching staff, Robert Kraft could go outside the Belichick tree and find an outside of the box option.

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