Would Robert Kraft move on from Patriots coach Bill Belichick before he catches Don Shula?
Without Tom Brady, Bill Belichick is mortal.
The Patriots are 25-26 since the legendary quarterback left to win a Super Bowl elsewhere.
New England doesn't even have a playoff win in the last three seasons.
The Patriots are 3-10 against Miami and Buffalo in that span.
And everyone agrees New England is the fourth-best team among four teams in the AFC East in 2023.
Things seem to be unraveling for the GOAT coach, Belichick.
And now noted NFL columnist Peter King is wondering how long the Belichick-Patriots era will last.
"Say the Patriots go 7-10 each of the next two years, and Belichick is five wins from passing Don Shula. WWKD? What will Kraft do? He may move on. If so, it would not surprise me to see Belichick coach another team for a couple of years," King wrote this week.
Move on from Belichick! Wow.
(It should be noted that Belichick needs 19 wins to surpass Shula's mark of 347 including playoffs.)
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It seems obvious Belichick and Kraft are not in full alignment on issues like team building and coaching staff.
At the NFL owners' meeting in Arizona, Kraft didn't seem overly concerned about Belichick's chase of Shula.
“I’d like him to break Don Shula’s record, but I’m not looking for any of our players to get great stats,” Kraft told reporters. “We’re about winning and doing whatever we can to win. That’s what our focus is now. It’s very important to me that we make the playoffs. That’s what I hope happens next year.”
In Belichickian fashion, Kraft added: "But in the end, this is a business. You either execute and win or you don’t."
Ouch.
Belichick's decision to install Matt Patricia as offensive play-caller was as bad a decision as he's ever made.
And too many of Belichick's recent free agent signing and draft picks have flopped.
Some believe assistant Jerod Mayo will be the Patriots' next head coach.
Can Don Shula's 347 career victories be surpassed?
And now King is wondering if Belichick will catch the Dolphins GOAT Shula in victories?
Dolphins fans would love if he didn't. It does seem more likely, as King suggests, that Belichick would pursue the record in another city if necessary.
Belichick setting the record in, say, a Cleveland Browns or Washington Commanders hoodie would be weird but not quite as weird as say Michael Jordan in a Washington Wizards uniform.
King highlighted Belichick's age.
"I’m starting to wonder what happens to Belichick, who turns 71 in two weeks, if the Patriots sink to the bottom of the AFC East," he wrote. "It’s certainly possible, with Aaron Rodgers likely to enter the division and the Patriots clearly inferior to the Bills and Dolphins recently."
Belichick certainly seems likely to coach as long as he physically can.
The notion he may not be able to coach as long as he wants in New England - despite six head coach Super Bowl victories - is certainly stunning.
Joe Schad is a journalist covering the Miami Dolphins and the NFL at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jschad@pbpost.com and follow him on Instagram and Twitter @schadjoe. Sign up for Joe's free weekly Dolphins Pulse Newsletter. Help support our work by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Don Shula leads the NFL in coaching victories. Will Bill Belichick catch him?
