FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick broke his long-standing rule of not discussing his contract as speculation about his future hangs over the organization.
In his regular-season finale conference call earlier Monday, Belichick talked about continuing the process of analyzing the team’s “disappointing” 4-13 campaign while reminding reporters: “I’m under contract. I’m going to do what I always do.” , which is every day I come, I work as hard as I can to help the team in any way I can.”
Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots watches his team’s 27-17 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium on December 17, 2023 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Belichick, in his 24th season, has often said he will not answer questions about his contract, which has been one of the NFL’s best-kept secrets.
Belichick shared that he will soon meet with the owners, led by Robert Kraft, as he has done several times after seasons in previous years.
Asked if he would consider giving up his personnel authority, Belichick said: “Look, I’m in favor of whatever we decide collectively as an organization is the best thing to help our football team. I have multiple roles in that, and “I rely on a lot of people to help me with those responsibilities; someone has to have the final say. Whatever that process is, I’m just a part of it.”
Belichick did not acknowledge whether Kraft has given him any indication that his job is in jeopardy.
“I learned a lesson from my father when I was a kid: you work for the team you’re working for and you do the best you can for them, until someone tells you otherwise. So that’s not going to change,” he said.
Belichick added that he is “very committed” to the Patriots organization and made it sound like everything was normal for him on Monday, which included a final meeting with players at 9 a.m. ET.
“It was obviously a very disappointing season in every way. The players, the coaches, the staff, the organization, everyone is nowhere near our standards and expectations. So, obviously, things need to be fixed,” he said.
“…We’ll start putting the pieces back together in terms of setting things up to do a good, detailed analysis and start sort of a rebuild, so to speak.”
2024-01-08 15:45:00
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