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Mike Reiss, ESPN Staff Writer
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — As speculation over the future of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick swirls, Belichick explained Tuesday why he doesn’t get caught up in the uncertainty.
The Patriots (4-12) host the New York Jets in the season finale Sunday, which will put an end to a disappointing season that came after owner Robert Kraft said in March that it was important to him that the team qualified for the playoffs. Belichick, in his 24th season, is the NFL’s longest-tenured head coach.
“Whatever success I have had, I’ve tried to go about my job the same way every week — win, lose, good years, bad years, whatever they are,” Belichick said during his weekly interview on sports radio WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show.”
“Each week, get ready to go for that week, do the best you can to help your team win, and after that game move on to the next one. And at the end of the season, that’s the end of the season.
“But on a week-to-week basis, I don’t want to spend time, or get caught up in what happened five years ago, or what’s going to happen two years from now, and a bunch of other random stuff. Just working on the Jets.”
The Patriots have clinched a last-place finish in the AFC East for the first time since 2000, which was Belichick’s first year as head coach. They are currently projected to select No. 3 in the NFL draft, and Belichick was asked in the radio interview whether he keeps draft position in mind entering the season finale.
“I’m committed to the team that I’m coaching right now, the players that are here,” he answered. “They deserve my best every day, and that’s what I’m going to give them.”
The Patriots lost to the Buffalo Bills 27-21 on Sunday in Orchard Park, New York, hanging close despite committing four turnovers in the first half.
“We put ourselves in a hole and battled back, but couldn’t battle all the way back,” Belichick said on WEEI. “I think the players have come in every week, on a very consistent basis, and worked hard and tried to correct their mistakes and prepare for the next team … that’s what these guys have done all year — from the beginning of the year until all the way through last week to Buffalo. I think that’s what they are and what they do.
“We’ve gotten some really good leadership from our captains and some of the other veterans on the team. People have followed their example. We’re all just trying to get better and do the best we can.”
The offense ranks last in the NFL in points per game (14.5), and the team has a minus-10 turnover differential (17 takeaways, 27 giveaways). The last time the Patriots finished a season with a negative turnover differential was 2005, which is the longest active streak in the NFL.