PATRIOTS HC BILL BELICHICK GETS 300TH CAREER REGULAR SEASON WIN, SIGNED NEW LUCRATIVE MULTI-YEAR DEAL IN THE OFFSEASON
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick earned 300th regular season win of his career against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, joining an exclusive club that includes former Chicago Bears’ head coach George Halas, and Miami Dolphins’ legend Don Shula.
In an impressive showing against a tough Bills team that has dominated this matchup in recent years, Belichick saw his team rally and put up a 75-yard drive in under two-minutes that resulted in the go-ahead touchdown by tight end Mike Gesicki. The huge win came just hours after NFL insider Ian Rapoport reported on Sunday morning that Belichick had quietly agreed to a lucrative new multi-year contract this past offseason.
Belichick, who has spent the last 23 years at the helm of the New England Patriots has been under pressure in recent weeks following New England’s 1-5 start to the season.
“With the Patriots struggling this season, as they really never have, Bill Belichick’s job security has somehow been a topic in New England,” Rapoport reported on NFL Game Day. “Would [Patriots’ owner] Robert Kraft make a move [to fire Belichick] mid-season? Would he make a move at all? My understanding is he would not be inclined to make a move mid-season.”
Rapoport went on to explain how difficult it would be for the Patriots to get rid of Belichick considering the eight-time Super Bowl champion had quietly agreed to a lucrative new deal prior to the start of the 2023 campaign. The new extension was one of the most closely-held secrets, not only in New England but also across the entire league, as instead of stepping down from one of the league’s most prolific franchises, Belichick is now more than set up to chase Don Shula’s 328-win record.
Belichick was atypically jolly during his postgame press conference on Sunday after the team’s first win since Week 3 and joked with reporters about different facets of the game, including the kicking conditions and Tyler Bass’ 42-yard field goal attempt that missed wide to the right. Belichick, however, declined talking about his new deal.
“Yeah, I never talk about my contract,” he said. “I focus on the game, try to focus on Buffalo. Now I’ll focus on Miami. You can count on that.”
The last few months have seen plenty of public outcry from fans and media alike for the team to part ways with Belichick, with most of the criticism targeted at his “mishandling” of quarterback Mac Jones and the team’s offense.
The 71-year-old, who is also the team’s general manager, has had a rather unique approach to roster construction, especially offensively over the past three years since he drafted Mac Jones 15th overall. Belichick has since played him without an official offensive coordinator in only his second career year, released both the team’s backup and third-string quarterbacks before signing them back, and benched him towards the end of back-to-back losses. The 2021 PFWA Executive of the Year has also built a team that’s shown little to no resolve through the first six weeks of the regular season.
That wasn’t the case on Sunday, however, as the Patriots showed up and played like the Pats of old, making an early statement by leading 13-3 going into halftime following two Chad Ryland field goals and an Ezekiel Elliott touchdown. In the end, the Patriots had to overcome a fourth-quarter Bills rally and pull off a comeback of their own to beat Buffalo 29-25 at Foxborough.
The Patriots next travel to Miami to take on the division leading Dolphins, who are currently 5-2 and boast the league’s no.1 offense.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
Photo: Alexander Jonesi. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.