Patriots Rumors: Why Bill Belichick’s Exit Might Get Ugly For Robert Kraft

Robert Kraft has been vocal about his desire for the Patriots to return to glory, and another season without postseason football means a tough decision might need to be made when it comes to Bill Belichick.

New England was eliminated from playoff contention after Week 14, which meant it missed the postseason for the third time in four seasons. Belichick's record without Tom Brady continues to tarnish his public reputation, and reports continue to hint that the future Hall of Fame head coach might be on the outs.

NBC Sports Boston's Tom Curran reported this week that a decision on Belichick's future already has been made since the Patriots' loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Week 10 in Germany. Jerod Mayo long has been seen as a successor to Belichick, but Kraft reportedly has wavered on that idea, and Mike Vrabel increasingly has been linked to a potential New England vacancy.

The Patriots might keep Belichick as head coach but remove his executive responsibilities, especially given his recent record with free agents and draft picks. That's a difficult conversation Kraft would need to have with Belichick since it seems unlikely the 71-year-old would give up any power.

Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal on Thursday reported that those he's spoken to within the organization find it unlikely Belichick will work with Kraft to find an "elegant solution." They think it's doubtful Belichick would ever agree to be traded, "unless there was some tweak to Belichick's contract."

"Belichick might agree to nice press release language about parting of the ways, but make no mistake: The odds are strong that this will end up being a firing at the end of the day," Bedard wrote.

This conflicts with the idea that Belichick and Kraft agree to mutually part ways, and the head coach resigns similar to the way Tom Coughlin left the New York Giants after the 2015 season.

There reportedly is "sniffing around" on Belichick, who remains mum in his news conferences about his future with the organization.

It's doubtful a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday would be the final straw for Kraft, and it's more likely this conversation will happen after the season when all the dust has settled and Belichick doesn't have anything else to focus on.