There continues to be smoke about Bill Belichick’s seat getting warmer in New England.

Belichick, 71, is on the short-list for greatest coach in NFL history, and debatably ahead of other contenders like Vince Lombardi and Don Shula, but the Patriots are off to a 1-5 start after missing the playoffs last year.

Sports Illustrated NFL insider Albert Breer, who is based in New England, joined “The Herd” on Thursday and was asked by host Colin Cowherd if there have been discussions between owner Robert Kraft and his son Jonathan about doing what would have once been unthinkable: firing Belichick.

“These discussions have taken place, and I can tell you for sure, I mean, Robert hears the criticism,” Breer answered. 

“He hears the anger locally, and people in the building know for a fact that he’s hearing the anger from the fan base, and he’s very cognizant of where his team is in the pecking order of NFL teams as well.

“They’re not a marquee team anymore, and he took a lot of pride in them being a marquee team for two decades, right up there with teams like the Cowboys, like the Eagles, like the Giants had been traditionally. So I think there’s all of that that sort of plays into this.”

Breer continued to say that succession planning has been taking place since at least this past offseason.

“The discussions about the future of the franchise actually do go back to January and February when they were sitting down with Jerod Mayo, their de facto defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, and they got him to turn down an interview with the Panthers. The best thing for his career probably was to take that interview,” Breer said.

“So the discussions of where this goes post-Belichick have been underway for a while, and I think regardless of how this year went, I think there was going to be a discussion about the structure of the franchise and potentially changing the personnel department. [They’re asking the question] ‘Do we bring in a general manager or promote someone to general manager and see if Bill wants to work with him?’”

“I think now we’re at the point where, is this just going to be a flat-out firing?, and do they want to go forward with the current program?, and what does that mean for Jerod Mayo?”

“I think those bigger-picture discussions are now part of it.  But the discussions of where they are post-Belichick have been going on for a while. And again, back in January and February, it included Jerod Mayo.”

It won’t get any easier for the Patriots as they take on the Bills this season.

They have lost four straight to Buffalo, including a 47-17 wild-card beatdown in the 2021 playoffs.