Patriots news: Bill Belichick 'absolutely' wants to coach New England next season

The New England Patriots are in the midst of controversy with talk of a rift within the front office with head coach Bill Belichick at the center of it all. Although there's talk of Belichick wanting out, he appears to be alluding to the contrary.

In the wake of the thorough report outlining the internal dysfunction within the New England Patriots, the future of head coach Bill Belichick became a prominent topic of discussion.

It didn't take long for Belichick to issue a clear response when asked about whether he wants to be on the sidelines for the Patriots in the 2018 season, according to Michael Giardi of NBC Sports Boston.

"Absolutely," says Bill Belichick when asked if his intentions were to be coaching the Patriots again next year.

— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) January 8, 2018

Belichick's answer mirrored what the Patriots had indicated following the release of the report by ESPN last Friday. In fact, the three had issued a joint statement stating that they are a united front and were solely focused on the playoffs.

The report detailed the inner deals between both he, team owner Robert Kraft, and quarterback Tom Brady. There had reportedly been some disagreements between the three regarding Brady's long-term future with the team Kraft allegedly backed to keep the five-time Super Bowl champion on board.

Belichick has been headed by Belichick since the 2000 season where they since garnered five Super Bowl wins in seven appearances while winning the AFC East 15 times. The Patriots have also recorded double-digit win seasons since 2002 while he has won two NFL Coach of the Year awards.

New England has been able to build a sustainable culture of success around the organization for nearly the last two decades alongside Tom Brady. Although there may be a power struggle inside the organization, the trio has each played a major part in helping keep them going in the right direction toward being a Super Bowl contender seemingly every year.

That said, things could become quite interesting if the Patriots fall short of capturing another Super Bowl, this entire situation will be at the forefront over the next few months. In the meantime, the focus of the organization is on their divisional round matchup against the Tennesee Titans this upcoming weekend.