With how the Patriots have played this season, many have wondered whether Bill Belichick will retire, or end up getting fired by New England. There’s been no sign of either scenario happening, but that hasn’t stopped his former players calling for him to retire at the end of the season.
Tedy Bruschi said prior to the Patriots’ game against the Las Vegas Raiders that Don Shula’s wins record doesn’t matter, and that Belichick should fish with him on Nantucket next year.
For Devin McCourty, who played 13 seasons under Belichick before retiring after the 2022 season, he wants the legendary coach to walk away from the game when he sees fit. On the latest episode of “Eye On Foxborough,” the three-time Super Bowl champion joined MassLive Patriots reporter Karen Guregian and explained why he doesn’t necessarily agree with Bruschi.
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“That’s easier for us to say. I didn’t put in the hours that he put in. And I’m not saying that he’s out there just for this (wins) record. I think he should go until he feels like he’s given the game all that he can, and the game’s given everything,” McCourty told Guregian. “To just say he has nothing to prove — I mean, he had nothing to prove how many years ago? He could have stopped and decided to do something different years ago. He could have said, ‘You know what? Tom Brady’s done, I’m done.’ And left when he retired or went to the front office and been a consultant.”
McCourty added that the teams the Patriots had after Brady’s departure “should have been really bad.” But they weren’t. The Patriots had players on their roster “who were strictly on the practice squad,” and players who “hadn’t played a lot of football in the NFL on any team.”
“You’re not gonna get the top free agents every year. You’re not gonna get the number one tackle the number one wide receiver, defensive back,” McCourty said. “… But I just know like his mentality and how he doesn’t care about (records) and he wants to just do what he does. But it’s hard to watch right now.”
The Patriots didn’t make any moves during Tuesday’s trade deadline, and they haven’t shown a lot of signs that they’ll turn things around. Their next opponent, the Washington Commanders, traded two of their pass rushers Tuesday, so it would certainly be a good opportunity for New England to get back in the win column.
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