Patriots Belichick at 70: Steep Decline or Stronger Control?
He's never won a Super Bowl without Tom Brady. His team lost four of its last five games last season, including a 40-point thumping in the playoffs. His draft picks came under intense scrutiny, and now his coaching-staff shuffling is the target of criticism.
And now he's attempting to do something no other coach in NFL history has accomplished: Win a Super Bowl after age 70.
So, is New England Patriots boss Bill Belichick changing?
"He continues to come in here, Day 1 of OTAs, for however many years it is, and it's the same intensity," Patriots safety and captain Devin McCourty told ESPN this week. "I've always said, when people ask me what's Bill like, that he's the model of consistency. Showing up to your job every day, having the same attitude, the same messaging, and being able to do that over and over again is hard."
This marks Belichick's 48th season in the NFL and 28th as a head coach (including his stint in Cleveland from 1991 to '95). His passion for the fundamentals, details and every facet of football still percolates. At OTAs last week in Foxboro he was the same coach in 2022 and he was in 1992.
He gave individual instruction to undrafted free agents. He made the entire offensive unit run a lap - workouts are voluntary; disciplinary laps are mandatory - when quarterback Mac Jones made a pre-snap mistake.
Despite his success growing distant in the rearview mirror and the skeptics growing louder, Belichick retorts by ... being Beliichick.
"I'd say the thing about Coach, even though he's older, I don't even think he sleeps," inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo said. "He wears multiple hats. You never know where you're going to find him."
