The New England Patriots are in the midst of the worst season they have ever had under head coach Bill Belichick.
It's been so awful, the NFL actually flexed the matchup between the Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs from Monday Night Football to the early Sunday window. That ended up being the right call since the Chiefs easily took care of business.
Amid their season, several reports have already emerged that the Patriots are planning on parting ways with the six-time Super Bowl champion coach. In fact, the rumors are saying that it was decided weeks ago.
If those rumors are true and Patriots owner Robert Kraft is planning on moving on, the natural question is where will Belichick go next? Assuming he doesn't retire, it seems likely that at least one head coach-needy team will want to scoop him up.
It's very reminiscent of the Andy Reid saga with Kansas City picking him up just days after he was fired by the Philadelphia Eagles.
So where could Belichick go? An obvious answer seems to be the Los Angeles Chargers. They have a young star quarterback that Belichick hasn't had since Tom Brady left New England. They also have a pretty solid defense. Or at least they have the parts to have a solid defense. And everyone knows that defense is Belichick's bread and butter.
The major question with this fit: would Bill Belichick want to come to the AFC West? Everyone knows the difference in his coaching record with and without Brady. What people tend to overlook is that for the vast majority of his time with Brady, the AFC East was also pretty bad. Conversely, without Brady the East has vastly improved.
Moving to the AFC West would not provide the same path to getting six easy wins every season that Belichick might be use to. He would be taking Justin Herbert into battle against Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes, Sean Payton and Russell Wilson, and a Raiders team that's good for at least one tough game per year.
Belichick is only a solid season or two away from the all-time NFL record. I'm not sure coming to the AFC West would be the best way to get him there.