FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, known for his tight-lipped approach to discussing contracts, made a notable departure from his usual stance as questions about his future with the team continue to swirl.
During his regular-season-ending video conference on Monday, Belichick addressed the disappointing 4-13 season, stating, “I’m under contract. I’m going to do what I always do, which is every day I come in, work as hard as I can to help the team in whatever way I can.”
Belichick, in his remarkable 24th season with the team, is notorious for keeping the details of his contract under wraps, but this time, he revealed that he will meet with team ownership, led by Robert Kraft, as he has done in past years.
When questioned about the possibility of relinquishing his personnel authority, Belichick emphasized his willingness to collaborate with the organization. He said, “Look, I’m for whatever we collectively decide 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 in those responsibilities; somebody has to have the final say. Whatever that process is, I’m only part of it.”
Belichick did not comment on whether Kraft had given any indication regarding his job security, emphasizing his commitment to the team. He stated, “I learned [a] lesson from my dad growing up — you work for the team that you’re working for and do the best you can for it until somebody tells you different. So that’s not going to change.”
Despite the disappointing season, Belichick expressed his dedication to the Patriots organization and indicated that he was already focused on the future. He said, “It was obviously a very disappointing season all the way around. Players, coaches, staff, organization, everybody; [it] is not anywhere close to what our standard and expectations are. So, obviously, things need to be fixed… We’ll start putting the pieces back together in terms of setting things up to go through a good, detailed analysis and to kind of start a reconstruction, if you will.”