Bill Belichick isn’t ready to make any declarations about his future in New England following a 4-13 season.
The 71-year-old coach told reporters Monday following the Patriots’ 17-3 season-ending loss to the New York Jets on Sunday that evaluations about all futures in Foxborough are ongoing.
“I’m under contract. I’m going to do what I always do, which is you know every day, I come in work as hard as I can to help the team and whatever way I can,” he said. “So, that is what I’m going to continue to do. You know today was kind of wrap up day for us with the players and have a meeting with them and then go from there. As far as any decisions or directions or anything like that for next year is way too early for that. The end of the year processes you know I don’t think will be fundamentally different from the standpoint of how it’s done.”
Belichick noted he’ll be meeting with owner Robert Kraft but declined to give a timeline or an estimation of his expectations for those discussions.
“Might be a series of meetings, I don’t know,” Belichick said. “We’ll deal with that internally.”
Belichick was equally evasive about whether he’d consider relinquishing personnel decisions but continuing to coach the Patriots. However, his response could be read as a message to ownership — or another team — about his willingness to take a step back in that realm.
“I’m for whatever collectively we decide is the best thing to help this football team,” Belichick said, noting that someone must have the final say. “Whatever that process is, I’m only part of it.”
He added: “I’m here to work as long as I can to help our team every day.”
Closing out his 24th season with the Patriots, Belichick declined to say whether he’d be interested in coaching for another club.
“I’m not going to get into hypothetical situations,” he said.
Those hypothetical situations could become reality as we move forward this week with the possibility of the end of an era coming in Foxborough.
