Belichick brushes off NFL future talk
NEW YORK: New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick brushed off questions about his future on Tuesday, saying he was solely focused on his struggling NFL team’s upcoming season finale against the New York Jets.
Belichick, winner of a record eight Super Bowls as head coach or coordinator, has been the subject of intense scrutiny this season, with speculation raging that Patriots owner Robert Kraft may finally be ready to usher him towards the exit. New England are bottom of the AFC East with just four wins against 12 defeats, the worst winning percentage of Belichick’s dazzling coaching career.
However, the famously taciturn 71-year-old was in no mood to discuss what the off-season might mean for him during an appearance on Boston sports radio station WEEI-FM on Tuesday. “Whatever success I have had, I’ve tried to go about my job the same way every week,” Belichick said when asked about his future.
“Win, lose, good years, bad years, whatever they are. Just, each week, get ready to go for that week, do the best you can to help your team win, and after that game, move on to the next one. “On a week-to-week basis I don’t want to spend time or get caught up in what happened five years ago, or what’s going to happen two years from now, or a bunch of other random stuff. So, just working on the Jets.”
Belichick, meanwhile, was similarly non-committal about whether he would welcome the Patriots adding a general manager to work alongside him next season. Belichick is a rarity in the NFL in that he has effectively worked as both New England’s head coach and de facto general manager throughout his tenure.
“I appreciate the question. Again, right now, just looking to the Jets, trying to get ready to go on them,” Belichick said. “It has been a long time since we’ve played them here, whatever, 14, 15 games ago. So really going to focus on that and that’s what we’re doing this week.
“It’s a lot of hypotheticals and you know, a lot of in the past, in the future. I’m really focused on what’s going on right now and that’s what my job is, that’s what I’m trying to do and that’s what I’m going to do.”