The stakes are high for Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots in 2023 as tensions continue to run high between the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach and owner Robert Kraft.
After missing the playoffs for the second time in three seasons since Tom Brady left for Tampa Bay, the fractures in Belichick and Kraft's long-standing bond are widening. A desperately disappointing 8-9 season in 2022 did nothing to ease the owner's concerns about the future in Foxborough, with the Pats slumping from 6-4 by losing five of their final seven games to finish third in the AFC East.
The Patriots' woes last season were underpinned by a huge regression from second-year quarterback Mac Jones, who had impressed in his rookie season but was left with an inadequate coaching framework around after the departure of Josh McDaniels, who took up the head coaching gig at the Las Vegas Raiders.
