If 2023 becomes Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s final year in New England, he’ll exit with a strange set of bookends.
Sunday’s loss to the Bills clinched New England’s first last-place finish in the AFC East since Belichick’s first year on the job, in 2000.
That year, the Pats went 5-11. This year, they’re 4-12 with one game left, a Week 18 visit from the 6-10 Jets. Even with a win over New York, the Patriots will still be in last place in the division, at 5-12.
In between, the Patriots went to 13 AFC Championship games and nine Super Bowls, winning six of them.
After the season ends, the question becomes whether owner Robert Kraft will move on from Belichick. It’s one thing to say it. It’s quite another to do it. We’ll see if Kraft does in the following week or two.
