Will Belichick get a head coaching job?
by Dakota Randall | 14 hours ago | 3 min reading
Most teams, including the New England Patriots, would likely hire Bill Belichick as their head coach.
But of course Belichick is not just any head coach. To borrow a phrase from perhaps the greatest television show of all time: “It’s a (bleeping) planet.”
A week ago, Belichick seemed destined to end up with the Falcons. But his move to Atlanta has reportedly “lost momentum” and the Falcons have scheduled interviews with others high-quality candidates, including Mike Vrabel. Additionally, as more and more NFL coaching positions are filled, one may wonder whether Belichick will coach at all in 2024. After all, he will soon be 72 years old.
So what's going on? Why are teams so hesitant to hire the greatest coach in football history?
Multiple reports suggest that franchises like the Falcons are afraid of giving too much power to Belichick, who could move coaching and front office staff out of the way and reshape them as he sees fit. Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer elaborated on this point in an article published Wednesday.
“I remember asking around in the fall what the market was for Belichick, and the answer was pretty unanimous that there would be a market for the greatest coach of all time, even at 71 (he will be). 72 in April),” Breer wrote. “But many of those decisions came with a caveat: Teams would love to have Belichick as their coach, but the problem may be that signing him requires much more than that.
“Would another team give him control of the roster after the Patriots sputtered post-Tom Brady? Would an ownership group commit to handing over the keys to the bus and getting out of its way? Such questions could change market conditions.”
Belichick still has time to find a job, even if it's not in Atlanta. And at least one report indicates that a franchise that doesn't currently have a coaching vacancy is interested in pursuing Belichick.
But the clock is ticking. At this point, there appears to be a real chance that Belichick will spend the 2024 season outside of the NFL.
About the author
Dakota Randall