Bill Belichick stonewalls questions about Patriots’ future
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Bill Belichick walked up to the podium on Sunday morning focused on the present. The Patriots coach, sporting a blue cutoff windbreaker and jeans, spoke as if he hadn’t slept much following his team’s disappointing exit from the 2019 season. His voice was raspy and lower than usual. His hair was unkempt and his temper was short.
Belichick already knew the questions before anyone had a chance to ask on this day. He just wasn’t ready to give any answers about the uncertainty surrounding the Patriots heading into 2020. He wasn’t willing to talk about the future because less than 24 hours after the Pats 20-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans, not even Belichick knows what it holds for this franchise.
“We’re less than 12 hours from the end of the game,†Belichick said. “I’m sure there are a lot of questions about the future. Nobody’s thought about the future. Everybody’s been focused on working on Miami and then Tennessee. That’s where all the focus should’ve been and where it was. Whatever’s in the future, we’ll deal with at some later point and time. We’re certainly not going to deal with it now.â€
At some point in the coming months, Belichick and the Patriots will need to figure out all the answers to these questions.
In the final press conference of the 2019 season, which last just over 15 minutes, Belichick wouldn’t say whether he thinks or wants Tom Brady back. For the first time in his 20-year career, Brady’s set to become a free agent in March. Belichick was so focused on the present, he wouldn’t even say if he’d be back with the Patriots in 2020.
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It’d be the shock of the century if Belichick isn’t back. With Brady, however, there’s a chance that the quarterback is somewhere else next season. Figuring out the quarterback situation for 2020 is the No. 1 priority for the Patriots.
The new NFL league year starts at 4 p.m. on March 18. Does Belichick want to have clarity on Brady’s situation before then?
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