FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Bill Belichick, the NFL’s longest-serving coach and turning 71 in April, said Monday he plans to return in 2023 for his 24th season as coach of the New England Patriots.
The Patriots ended their season Sunday with a 35-23 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
After declaring that he wants to return, Belichick said of the Patriots’ 8-9 season, “Nobody’s happy with that. That’s not our goal. We need to improve that. So that’s all of us – responsibility everywhere, starting with me, the coaching staff, the players, every unit. Those are all things that we’re going to address and that process will likely start later today.”
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Belichick said that will include a meeting with owner Robert Kraft, who said in March he wasn’t happy the franchise hasn’t won a playoff game since Super Bowl LIII over the Los Angeles Rams on Feb. 3 have , 2019.
Belichick has 329 career wins as a head coach (including playoffs), second only to Don Shula (347) in NFL history.
Belichick posed a series of questions in a Monday morning video conference call, many of which were specific to the team’s offense, which had a stunning regression in 2022.
When asked if he envisions Mac Jones as the team’s starting quarterback in 2023 or if he needs to reevaluate the position in the offseason, Belichick said, “I think Mac has the ability to play quarterback in this league. We all have to work together to find the best way — as a football team, whose quarterback is obviously an important position — to be more productive than we were this year.
Jones was 288 of 442 for 2,997 yards (65.2%) this season, with 14 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He was sacked 34 times for 231 yards.
As a rookie in 2021 when he was selected as a Pro Bowl alternate, Jones was 352 of 521 for 3,801 yards (67.6%), with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He had been sacked 28 times for 241 yards.
Jones’ dip reflected how the Patriots cratered in every offensive stat category that Belichick has long said is most important to him — particularly the red zone (drop from 11th to 32nd), the third place (from 10th to 27th (48 last season to 31 this season).
Because of this, Belichick was repeatedly asked Monday morning about his decision-making on offense coaches; After longtime coordinator Josh McDaniels departed after last season to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, Belichick turned to veteran coaches Matt Patricia and Joe Judge to manage the offensive staff, though they primarily coached defense and defense respectively .were active in special teams.
Belichick defended his decisions – he previously shared his belief that a good coach can thrive in any role – but also left open the possibility that changes could come in 2023.
“Every decision we’ve made has always been about doing what’s best for the football team. It’s always been that way and it will continue to be that way,” he said. “At different decision points you have different options. As these develop or emerge, we will continue to evaluate them.”