Patriots analyst believes Bill Belichick’s refusal to sell at trade deadline tips future with team
Bill Belichick is on the home stretch of his NFL coaching career no matter how one slices it.
At 71 years old, the New England Patriots head coach is closer to hanging it up than his first day in the league. However, the million-dollar question asks when he'll pick his moment.
In an article on Patriots Wire, team analyst Jordy McElroy saw an indication that at least his end with the team could be coming by Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Here's how he put it:
"What good would selling and acquiring future draft assets do for a coach that might not even be with the team beyond this season?"
McElroy went on to explain his thought process:
"If Belichick was on the outs, it would make more sense for him to play things out and win as many games as possible the rest of the way. Not only would it soften the blow of a disastrous season, but it would also put him closer to breaking Don Shula’s all-time wins record."
At this point, Shula's all-time wins record might be the final climb that Belichick is pursuing. He already has won the most Super Bowls, which is the most difficult peak to scale.
Now, he just needs to win the marathon.
How close is Bill Belichick to breaking Don Shula's record?
Bill Belichick racked up most of his playoff wins with Tom Brady, but he will need to finish the final leg of the journey on his own. The journey still remains a long one for the head coach and could still be several years away.
Former Miami Dolphins head coach Don Shula went 328-156-6 in his time coaching the NFL. Belichick sits at 300-158, having never tied in a football game, and still has 29 wins to go at the time of writing.
However, what many authorities on his quest are missing is that he's still only in third place.
Chicago Bears head coach George Halas sits 18 wins ahead of Belichick at 318-148-31. Bill Belichick is about 91% of the way to Don Shula's record and 94% of the way to George Halas' record.
However, the elephant in the room is the rate at which the New England Patriots head coach is winning games in recent years.
Since Tom Brady left, Belichick has been good for about eight wins per season. At that rate, it would take an additional two seasons on top of this year just to break Halas' record.
If he wants Shula's record (won in part with Dan Marino), it would take another four seasons. However, if he keeps the rate of winning of this year at 2-6 in eight games with Mac Jones or another quarterback, one can easily double the number of year to get to Shula. This means it could take him close to another decade.
At the same time, Andy Reid, who is about six years younger and winning at a much faster clip, is the next closest in number of wins at 253. If Bill Belichick does reach the win record, will he keep that honor for the long haul anyway?