By John Sarianides
Patriots owner Robert Kraft indicated last week that Bill Belichick has told him how much longer he plans on coaching. Kraft would not divulge how much longer Belichick wants to coach but the fact that they have discussed it is very telling.
The reason they discussed it is because Bob Kraft, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady all have a pact with each other regarding how long they want to be directly associated with the Patriots. I think there is a succession plan in place.
Don’t worry Patriots fans. None of the three are going anywhere this off-season. I believe that Kraft, Belichick and Brady are going to give it three more years. In three years, Kraft will have owned the team for 26 years and Belichick and Brady will each be with the organization for 20 years.
So, what will happen in 2020? At the age of 78, Bob Kraft will announce that he is turning over the day to day operation of the franchise over to his son Jonathan.
At some point prior to the start of training camp, Belichick and Brady will announce jointly that their 20th season with the Patriots will be their last. Belichick will not retire however. He will move to the front office as Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager. He will hire his replacement after the season. It will not be Josh McDaniels. Instead, I think it will be Matt Patricia. McDaniels will get a head coaching job before that.
As for Brady, the greatest football player of all time will simply retire and ride off into the sunset. Brady won’t immediately announce his future plans but we know this much. He will not stay in the game in any capacity including television. Instead, Brady will continue to do commercials and make rare public appearances. Brady may end up getting into politics but there is no doubt he will take some time to unwind and spend time with his family.
All good things must come to an end. Luckily for Patriots fans, Kraft, Belichick and Brady aren’t quite ready to retire yet. The allure of winning a sixth Super Bowl is too much to resist. All three will be back, for now.
We have three more seasons of this terrific triumvirate. Hope they can deliver another Lombardi Trophy or two before they call it a career.