

The Facts: Bill Belichick, who turns 70 in April, says he still wants to coach in 2022 and will begin the process of moving forward after his New England Patriots team was rocked by the Buffalo Bills 47-17 in the wild-card round of the AFC playoffs Saturday night. Belichick, the NFL's longest-tenured head coach, notably once said he didn't plan to coach into his 70s like former Bills coach Marv Levy. He later softened those remarks. Asked Sunday morning whether it's safe to say he wants to return next season, he replied: "I'd say that would be accurate."
Diehards Line:Upon the team's return home from Orchard Park, New York, Belichick held a 30-minute season-ending video conference in which he reflected on the Patriots' 10-8 campaign, his 22nd as head coach. He said he planned to take "a longer view" while noting that the blowout loss was troubling. "You could argue there were elements of last night's game in some other games, but last night's game was the least competitive game we played," he said. "Is that what we are? Or is that a bad night? We'll see when we start playing again next year, I guess." Belichick noted the "ups and downs" of the Patriots' season, which included a 2-4 start and a seven-game winning streak before they sputtered down the stretch, losing three of their final four regular-season games. Asked about rookie quarterback Mac Jones, who started all 18 games, Belichick said: "Mac helped us a lot. I look forward to working with him next year." Belichick has a career record of 321-156 (including playoffs) and is the only head coach in NFL history to win six Super Bowl championships. He is third behind Don Shula (347) and George Halas (324) on the career wins list for head coaches.