‘Undercurrent Of Tension?’ Mike Florio Has Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft Thought

DeAndre Hopkins reportedly joining the Tennessee Titans rather than the New England Patriots has caused Bill Belichick to again come under fire for his unwillingness to spend on talent. The misfire now has prompted many to wonder how the Patriots will fare during the 2023-24 NFL season, and what it could mean for Belichick if his team again comes up shy of expectation.

Patriots insider Tom E. Curran shared Monday on "The Rich Eisen Show" that he believes Belichick could be on the hot seat if New England fails to win a playoff game for a fourth consecutive season. Curran even said he believes Belichick has had the temperature turned up since 2019.

Sentiments similar to Curran's are growing louder.

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, for example, also expressed a similar point when he appeared on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show" on Monday, one day after reports of Tennessee's deal for Hopkins. Florio said he believes there's an "undercurrent of tension" between Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Belichick.

"I think the comments that Robert Kraft made at the league meetings in Arizona in late-March were not received with the significance they should have been," Florio told WEEI, referencing comments Kraft made previously when asked about the potential of Belichick breaking Don Shula's wins record in New England.

"And Robert Kraft didn't say, 'Hey, he's here as long as he wants to be' or 'Hey, he's here until he breaks Don Shula's record' or some opened-ended thing like that. He said 'We want our players to get statistics, but more importantly, we want to win football games.' And I got the impression from the way he answered the question that another season of no playoffs could be a major problem for Bill Belichick."

Belichick is 19 wins away from breaking Shula's record.

"And then you've got that issue that I know bubbled up recently, but had been actually commented on earlier to the question of cash spending and Belichick complaining they were at the bottom of the league on a three-year rolling average and Kraft saying 'Hey, I give the guy whatever he wants.'

"I mean, there's an undercurrent of tension there. Any time you have losing in a program you're going to have tension that comes to the forefront and the question is how many losing seasons, how many more non-playoff appearances can Bill Belichick withstand?"

New England has not won a playoff game in four seasons and missed the postseason in two of the three campaigns since Tom Brady left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So while it's difficult to envision the Patriots pulling the cord on Belichick or Belichick coaching somewhere else, the smoke certainly is becoming harder to ignore.