Looming Bill Belichick-Robert Kraft meeting will be ‘so important’ for Patriots

Bill Belichick will get a chance to explain himself.

The Patriots coach is scheduled to meet with owner Robert Kraft and team president Jonathan Kraft on Monday, Jan. 8, a day after New England’s season finale against the Jets, to talk about their latest lost season — and Belichick’s fate.

“Robert Kraft has been very disappointed with the way this season has unfolded, naturally, and people that are close to him relay to me that that disappointment has been so extreme to the point that he has strongly considered moving on from Belichick,” ESPN’s Mike Reiss said on “Get Up” on Thursday. “But these people also tell me that no decision has been made at this point, and that’s why this final meeting will be so important.”

Per Reiss, Kraft’s disappointment with the Pats — entering the final week at 4-12 with the NFL’s worst offense — is “extreme.”

It could lead to the end of his partnership with the prickly coach, who guided the franchise to six Super Bowl titles from 2001-18, but haven’t won a postseason game since Tom Brady left following the 2019 season and will give Kraft his worst — and most dysfunctional — season as the team’s owner regardless of how they fare against the rival Jets.

The upcoming meeting between him and Belichick will at least give an indication on where the coach stands regarding a 25th season with the franchise.

“We don’t [know if Belichick wants to return],” Reiss continued, “and part of that is because Bill Belichick doesn’t tell anyone. He is so laser-focused. … People might be watching this being like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. We’ve got to have a season-ending meeting to know where things stand?’

“In Bill Belichick’s world, that’s the way it works. He is so laser-focused on each week, each game, that ownership gives him the space to say, hey, we’ll talk about the big picture after the season.”

Whether that’s the coach being fired, quitting, traded or finishing out his contract in 2024, the answer could come a day after this season ends.