Fire Bill Belichick: Would Patriots really choose nuclear option?

Saddled with a dreadful 1-4 record after a pitiful loss to the New Orleans Saints, are we sure that Bill Belichick is still a good head coach? He may have six Super Bowl championships on his resume in Foxborough, but these New England Patriots of his absolutely stink. There are only a handful of teams that might be worse than them. Right now, this is an unquestioned bottom-10 team in the league.

While the 70-something future Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach is still doing his thing in New England, we have to wonder if and when Robert Kraft, or possibly Jonathan Kraft, decide to pull the plug on this experiment. Belichick may love getting to coach with his sons at this level, but it is clear that the game is passing him by. If he were to retire, or be fired, who can the Patriots look at replacing Belichick with?

The two names that make the most sense are also internal. We could look at them promoting inside linebackers coach and former Patriots player Jerod Mayo from within. He has a future as an NFL head coach, so there is that. Another option could be giving offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien another stab at sitting in a big chair at the NFL level. He is the best head coach in Houston Texans 23-year franchise history.

No matter what becomes of Belichick in New England, one thing is certain: His Patriots are dog water.

Panic in Foxborough: Is it time for Patriots to move on from Bill Belichick?

To me, Belichick can coach in New England for as long as he wants to. He is the greatest head coach in NFL history. He should be able to retire on his own terms. However, this is starting to kind of get into that weird territory people who are slightly older than me saw out of Tom Landry's Dallas Cowboys in the mid-to-late 1980s. Jerry Jones made a gamble in firing Landry, but it did work out.

So with that in mind, I tend to think that if one of the Krafts decided to end it with Belichick, it will be Jonathan Kraft over Robert Kraft. That could still be several years from now, but the Patriots have honestly become quite decadent in the post-Tom Brady era of their franchise. This team is no longer contending for Super Bowls, but shouldn't they still be in the mix on occasion to make the playoffs?

Overall, we are going to need to see another quarter of the season unfold or two before we reach any sort of conclusion that it is time for Belichick to hang up the headset. He may be incredibly stubborn, but he's not an idiot. He can read the room and may know that his time to retire is not that far away. If Belichick can hand-pick his Patriots successor, I think that would be ideal for him.

Whether that man is Mayo, O'Brien or one of his children, Belichick is not done being a head coach.