The New England Patriots will face the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 52 on Sunday, and will be trying to tie the Pittsburgh Steelers as the only franchises in the NFL with six Super Bowl wins. Will a possible win lead to a Tom Brady retirement so he can say he left on top, or will it be a loss that forces him to retire?
However, after two decades spent dominating the NFL, the Patriots dynasty might actually be coming to an end on Sunday no matter the result of the game.
Towards the end of the regular season, ESPN published an article that claimed there was a power struggle going on behind the scenes in New England between Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, which forced owner Robert Kraft to choose sides in 2018.
After the report came out, the Patriots organization, Belichick and Brady all denied the report and all parties at one point or another said they all get along very well.
Things seem to be okay on the outside but the Patriots are expected to lose offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who will be named the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and defensive coordinator Matt Patricia is expected to be named the head coach of the Detroit Lions after the Super Bowl.
Both assistant coaches are expected to take a few other assistants from the Patriots with them, which means Bill Belichick will have to find replacements for them during the offseason.
Since the Patriots play in the Super Bowl, Belichick won’t have a lot of options when it comes to hiring new coaches, which might make retiring more appealing.
The fact that Brady will turn 41 next season also has to weigh on Belichick’s mind. With the team trading Jimmy Garoppolo to the San Francisco 49ers, which the report said was at Brady’s request, the Patriots don’t have a solid backup that can fill in for Brady if he gets injured or finally loses his fight with Father Time.
With most head coaching positions already filled, don’t be surprised if Belichick decides to retire after the season and make a comeback next season when a promising opportunity opens up.
If Belichick decides to retire after this season, he will go down as the greatest coach in NFL history.