The New England Patriots are far from the team they were years ago. It seems just like yesterday when Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski were dominating defenses and winning Super Bowls. Ever since Brady moved on from the team, New England has an overall record of 29-37 in the past four years. They've made the playoffs only once during that span, despite Bill Belichick still manning the helm from the sidelines.

Now, rumors are swelling on whether The Patriots will keep their long-time head coach amid another sub-par year. Recently, NFL Network's Mike Garofolo bared how he believes the Patriots will stick to Belichick in the long run.

“I thought a couple of weeks ago, Pete Carroll and Bill Belichick, we may be coming to the end of both of those tenures,” Garofolo said, as per The NFL Report podcast. “Not so sure on either one of them right now. I’ll start with Belichick.

“There’s still going to be a conversation between [Belichick] and Robert Kraft about the direction of the franchise. My sense is Kraft would prefer to not fire him. Would prefer for him to be the coach of the Patriots and get the record for most wins for a coach as a New England Patriots coach.”

This year, the Patriots have only won four games going into Week 18's regular-season finale. Their recent loss to the Buffalo Bills puts them in last place in the AFC East for the first time in more than two decades. Once the team's season closes following their upcoming game against the New York Jets, Kraft will have to make the ultimate decision regarding the franchise's future.