Reporters share if Patriots staffers expect Bill Belichick departure

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has not yet publicly confirmed or denied he will move on from legendary head coach Bill Belichick as soon as this coming Monday. 

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler shared an interesting update on the situation for a piece published Wednesday.   

"Some staff members are bracing for change and have begun examining outside opportunities out of necessity," Fowler said about individuals within the Patriots. 

While New England will miss the playoffs for the third time in four years under Belichick, some believe the fact that what was a 2-10 team won two of three games and also fought hard during this past Sunday's 27-21 loss at the Buffalo Bills could cause Kraft to retain the 71-year-old for another campaign. 

Belichick reportedly is under contract through next season, and Patriots beat reporter Zack Cox of NESN mentioned ahead of Christmas that "Kraft's ideal path forward with Belichick would be keeping him on board as head coach but hiring someone else to take over control of the Patriots' personnel." Neither Dan Graziano of ESPN nor Fowler thinks that's how this story ends. 

"No one is fully comfortable saying this is for sure the end for Bill Belichick there, probably because he's Bill Belichick," Graziano explained. "I still expect the Patriots to make a change and move on from the Belichick era after three losing seasons out of the past four. The Patriots will have a high enough draft pick that they can reset at quarterback, and my expectation is a new GM and coach will be there to do that."  

Fowler added that "the Robert Kraft-Belichick relationship has seemingly run its course, and a fresh start might do everyone some good" following New England's regular-season finale against the rival New York Jets at Gillette Stadium this Sunday. 

"Assuming that's the case, this will probably be handled with nuance and could take some time to sort out," Fowler continued. 

Kraft theoretically shouldn't want to waste time that could be spent on an official coaching search figuring out how to announce a parting of the ways with Belichick, especially if whispers suggesting linebackers coach Jerod Mayo is no longer New England's head coach in waiting are accurate. It's also possible Kraft wants to see how the Patriots play against the Jets before he makes what could be a franchise-altering decision.