Say what you want about Peter King, but he is very well-connected around the National Football League, and that includes the Patriots.

King rarely goes this far with any kind of informed speculation out of New England, so it was striking to see him openly “thinking” about Bill Belichick and his job security. It was one of the key subjects in his latest Football Morning In America column, and one he’s likely hearing about from at or near the top of the Pats organization.

“I’ve started to wonder—and I emphasize started—whether Bill Belichick, who needs 21 wins to break Don Shula’s all-time record for coaching victories, will get them in New England,” King buried deep in his “10 Things I Think I Think” section. He followed up with more thoughts on the Patriots-Bills game last Thursday night, then later had this:

I think Robert Kraft, who is 81 and will enter his 30th year of Patriots ownership in 2023, is not in this to rebuild deliberately. He has to be looking at the dung-show on the Patriots’ offensive staff and wondering why Belichick left the offense so wanting this year. Anyway, I can’t see anything weird happening this year. But I have my antennae up about the Patriots for 2023.

King’s take is consistent with other coaching rumors emerging around the league in that it stops short of Belichick being in trouble as soon as right after the 2022 season. The general indication is that Belichick may be on the proverbial “hot seat” entering the 2023 league year, which will present him another opportunity to spend in free agency, continue to show improvement in the draft, and put Mac Jones in a better position to succeed in his third year.

But the fact that King now has his eye on the coaching situation in Foxboro is worth drawing everyone else’s gaze, too.

Robert Kraft is on record saying it “bothers” him that the Patriots haven’t won a playoff game since 2018. It’s a line that was resurfaced last week by another Patriots insider, Jeff Howe of The Athletic, after the Pats’ demoralizing home loss to the Bills. The 6-6 Patriots are in danger of missing the playoffs entirely, let alone winning or even playing in a postseason game.

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)

There have been enough hints this season that, at the very least, ownership will step in and demand a more experienced offensive coaching staff. That may not even include firing Matt Patricia or Joe Judge, but merely reassigning them, while hiring people better suited to coordinating the offense. And coaching the quarterbacks. And coaching the offensive line.

At that point, however, the pressure will really be on Belichick to turn the Patriots around after a second step back in three seasons. And the ensuing step forward would have to be a leap, by comparison.

Hints have started to drop about the departure of one of the longest-tenured head coaches in the league. People close to those situations are reportedly starting to keep a closer watch on them, in the event of an unexpected head coach opening. At the same time, notable New England-connected figures like Bill O’Brien are being bandied about as possibilities to return in 2023.

The signs continue to point toward some kind of sea change in the NFL head coaching ranks, as soon as 2023. In the case of Belichick, the likelihood is that he gets one more year to make the Patriots a playoff winner once again. But it could be his last chance. And notably, King indicated that Belichick could coach elsewhere after the Patriots instead of retiring, if he still needs to catch Don Shula for the career wins record.

Such a thought may have seemed unfathomable at the height of the Patriots’ unmatched success under Belichick and Tom Brady, certainly after the pair won their sixth Super Bowl together in 2018. Is Belichick really not a Patriot for life?

But New England is 23-22 with no playoff wins since Brady’s departure, with the 2022 season heading in the wrong direction, and Kraft has already expressed disappointment with the subpar results lately.

If Belichick can’t turn it around in a big way, how else can you expect this to go for him?

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. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Yell at him on Twitter @mattdolloff and follow him on Instagram @realmattdolloff. Check out all of Matt’s content here.