With the New England Patriots at the peak of their powers, will head coach Bill Belichick hang up the headset after his eighth Super Bowl appearance?
Bill Belichick might be the greatest head coach of all-time. He has been to 10 Super Bowls including two as an assistant with the New York Giants, winning seven times going into Super Bowl LII against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Belichick, however, might be getting ready to wind down his career and go quietly into the sunset. At 65 years old, only Pete Carroll is an older active head coach. Belichick has nothing left to prove and while Tom Brady is apparently looking to play a few more seasons, maybe the lure of retirement is too much for the coach to walk away from.
Then again, Belichick has to be enjoying this run of unparalleled success. The Patriots have been to the Super Bowl eight times since 2001, along with 12 conference title games and a current streak of seven AFC Championship Game appearances. With Brady coming back next year, the Patriots are going to be the favorite to win it all once more, something they will likely be every year until Belichick and his Hall of Fame quarterback move on.
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New England would also be ill-prepared to replace Belichick, with both of his top coordinators moving on for other head coaching jobs. Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia is leaving for the Detroit Lions, while offensive guru Josh McDaniels is heading to Indianapolis to take over the Colts.
All things considered, look for Belichick to be back on the sideline come September.