Bill Belichick’s time seems to be winding down in New England, and the talk is already turning toward what’s next.
With the Patriots at 2-8 after missing the playoffs last year, the speculation has been that Robert Kraft will want to shuffle the deck.
Tuesday, Pat McAfee cited a report from The Athletic’s Dianna Russini this past weekend that indicated that people in the Pats’ building are preparing for a mutual parting of ways with Belichick, in a conversation with ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky.
“I’ve heard more and more of that over the last week. I’m not a reporter, but I have heard that,” Orlovsky said.
“I have heard that’s going to be the case. Who knows the likelihood of it, but I’ve heard it’s going to happen, and I’ve heard the location is already kind of determined as well.”
McAfee asked Orlovsky for confirmation: “Where he’s going?”
Orlovsky nodded his head, yes, and one of the producers chimed in that the Chargers sounded like a good destination.
But, Orlovsky would not bite on revealing said team.
“I’m not giving … I have heard that,” Orlovsky said.
As the Patriots reportedly signed Belichick to a multi-year contract extension this past offseason, the possibility exists that Kraft would seek to exact trade compensation from the head coach’s preferred next destination.
“There’s a little chatter out there about a possible trade of Bill Belichick,” ProFootballTalk founder Mike Florio told Rich Eisen earlier this month, speculating about the Commanders, with new owner Josh Harris, as a potential next team for the head coach.
Belichick, 71, has coached the Patriots for 24 seasons and won six Super Bowl championships.
The idea of him coaching anywhere else would have been profoundly difficult to imagine, but it appears we are approaching that juncture.
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