Patriots insider reveals surprising revelation about Bill Belichick

The hot seat rumors began for Bill Belichick almost immediately after Tom Brady left the New England Patriots, and many of them have been dismissed. According to one reporter who has covered the team for decades, it may be time to start taking the idea seriously.

Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston, who has covered the Patriots since 1997, spoke about Belichick’s job status during a Monday appearance on “The Rich Eisen Show.” Curran said he views Belichick as being on the hot seat and that the 71-year-old coach has been there since 2019.

“He’s on the hot seat. He’s been there at different levels of warmth since 2019,” Curran said. “In 2019, Tom Brady wanted a two-year, $60 million guaranteed contract just like Drew Brees had. He presumed he was going to get that. … Brady leaves, Belichick somehow convinces (team owner Robert) Kraft that not spending that money on Tom Brady was a great idea.”

Curran says that was essentially strike one for Belichick. The missteps then quickly piled up. The Patriots had no real plan at the quarterback position, and their attempt to revive Cam Newton’s career was a disaster. Belichick then spent a boatload in free agency on players who did not pan out. Last year, he brought in Matt Patricia and Joe Judge and tasked them with running the offense. The result was a massive step back for Mac Jones.

“They were one of the worst teams in the league coach-wise between penalties and situational football. That just shouldn’t happen,” Curran added.

The Patriots have since brought back Bill O’Brien, which should help with Jones’ development. However, they play in a suddenly loaded division and are coming off an 8-9 season. Curran said he wonders if Belichick would have already been gone if he were not 19 wins shy of breaking Don Shula’s all-time wins record.

“Kraft has pointed out a number of times, ‘I’m anxious. I want results.’ And he’s not getting them,” Curran said. “And I wonder if Belichick had already passed Shula or wasn’t even within hailing distance of Shula if we would even have this kind of a hand-wringing, what do we do about Bill conversation.”

You can hear more from Curran below: