UPDATE: The Patriots and Bill Belichick are parting ways. So that’s that.

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— Toucher & Hardy react to Belichick news
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NFL insider Jay Glazer

There could be a lot of changes around the league coming soon. Let's check in with @JayGlazer's Coaching Carousel about those possible changes

📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/gf3tFCqD2q

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 7, 2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said last Sunday, on Bill Belichick: “I think his tenure in New England’s over.”

But what if it wasn’t?

Even more of an eyebrow-raiser: what if Belichick was out as Patriots head coach, and his tenure wasn’t over?

That is a possible scenario in New England, however unlikely it may seem at the moment. But that’s exactly what just happened with Pete Carroll and the Seattle Seahawks. Shortly after it was reported that Carroll’s out as Seahawks head coach, team chair Jody Allen

Statement from Jody Allen - Chair, Seattle Seahawks pic.twitter.com/RNUZvF6Vgp

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) January 10, 2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released a statement reading, in part: “After thoughtful meetings and careful consideration for the best interest of the franchise, we have amicably agreed with Pete Carroll that his role will evolve from Head Coach to remain with the organization as an advisor.”

You’d have to think Robert Kraft is intrigued by Carroll as a possible template for Belichick.

Kraft doesn’t want to pay Belichick to not work, let alone work for another team. He doesn’t want to be known as The Man Who Fired Bill™. And perhaps he recognizes that Belichick did get the Pats to play hard for him down the stretch, as the season had already gone from troubling to hopeless.

But how could Belichick not lose his job as head coach after a 4-13 season? Three of the last four seasons under .500 and out of the playoffs? And now, Belichick has essentially dared Kraft to pull the plug.

• If Kraft can’t make the move, his only solution is to convince Belichick to pull a Carroll, and shift into an advisory role. As a senior advisor of football operations, Belichick’s input would obviously continue to carry a lot of weight. He’d probably get his money no problem. He just has to give up final say on personnel and coaching moves to a GM and a new head coach, respectively.

  Belichick has been operating like it’s business as usual in Foxboro. He even said in his Monday press conference, when asked if he’d be willing to relinquish personnel duties to keep coaching:

  “I’m for whatever, collectively, we decide as an organization is the best thing to help our football team. And, I have multiple roles in that, and I rely on a lot of people to help me in those responsibilities. If somebody’s got to have the final say, I rely on a lot of other people to help. And, however that process is, I’m only part of it.”

• For Belichick, it’s basically about power. Would he be willing to give up more of that to be able to stay? The money would be no worse. And if anything, he’d have more time for his family and other things away from football. If and when the Patriots reorganize, turn things around, and get back to playoff success, if that happens with Belichick deep in the background as an advisor, guess who’s going to get the credit? The chief football advisor. The one in the hoodie.

  It’s important to note that Belichick and Carroll could themselves be in totally different personal situations. Carroll may have wanted to scale back his own duties, which Belichick does not seem interested in doing. Carroll also generally feels like a more amenable person for this sort of transition in the first place.

  So, if this were even possible in New England, it would be on Belichick to agree to it. For the Krafts, that may be their most elegant solution possible.

  

  FOXBOROUGH, MA – JANUARY 3, 2021: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft (L) pats head coach Bill Belichick on the shoulder during warmups prior to the start of the game against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on January 3, 2021 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)

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  Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Check out all of Matt’s content.