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Could Patriots’ HC Bill Belichick retire at the end of the 2022 season?

By Lou Scataglia

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 24: New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick looks on after the game against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on October 24, 2021 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 24: New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick looks on after the game against the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium on October 24, 2021 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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A prominent figure in the sports media world thinks Bill Belichick will retire following the 2022 season. Could that actually happen?

Colin Cowherd, a prominent figure in the sports media world, did a segment on his show recently.  The segment was him giving his five bold predictions for the 2022 NFL season, and one of his predictions was that he thinks Patriots’ Head Coach Bill Belichick will retire following the 2022 season.

This is an interesting thing to think about.  I think arguments can be made both for and against him potentially retiring.

Cowherd noted that the new age NFL with high powered offenses and relying less on defenses is something that could be getting to Belichick.

Belichick coached teams usually always have a solid defense, but less emphasis on the defense and more on the offense is kind of becoming more common.

He also noted that the relationship between him and Robert Kraft hasn’t always been good, and some of Belichick’s draft and free agency decisions could be catching up to him.

On the one hand, retiring would make some sense, and the Bills look poised to continue dominating in the AFC East, so perhaps Belichick could leave before the Bills go on a Patriots’ type run in the division.

He’s also won six Super Bowls as a head coach and has a whopping 290 regular season wins.

He’s 70 years old and maybe he’s given some thought about leaving the hard lifestyle of being a coach/executive in the NFL.

Maybe he does want to retire soon and enjoy the last part of his life.

Maybe it isn’t outrageous to suggest that the longtime Patriots’ head man could hang it up soon.

However, the team he has now is still solid, and they could still win a bunch of games in 2022.

But with the insane amount of talent in the AFC, and the lack of high end talent on the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick could leave the keys to the franchise to someone else before it gets too messy.

He has both children and former players on his staff, so perhaps he’s already got a succession plan in mind.

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