As crazy as it seems, six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick is now a free agent. The long-time head coach and his now former New England Patriots team agreed to mutually part ways less than a week after their season ended.
Belichick made his way to New England all the way back in 2000, replacing Pete Carroll on the sideline. Since then, he joined Tom Brady in spearheading one of the greatest dynasties in modern professional sports history.
However, things took a turn since Brady’s departure following the 2019 season. After New England earned a surprise playoff appearance in 2021, it’s been completely down hill. The Pats were blown out by the Buffalo Bills 47-17 in that season’s AFC Wild Card Playoffs. They posted a mere 8-9 record in 2022 and finished the 2023 campaign with a 4-13 mark, the organization’s worst record since 1992.
The backdrop here were continued rumors that Patriots owner Robert Kraft would simply move on from Belichick following the 2023 campaign. After a meeting between the two this week, that came to fruition.
Assuming Belichick wants to keep this career going, there would not be a limited number of teams interested in him. Here is a look at five ideal landing spots.
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Las Vegas Raiders replace Josh McDaniels with Bill Belichick
Wouldn’t this be full circle? Belichick replacing his former offensive coordinator on a team that will soon see Tom Brady own a minority stake in? We couldn’t envision a better NFL offseason script for the writers. Think about it for a second.
As for the nuts and bolts of Belichick potentially heading to Sin City, it actually makes some sense. Say what you want to about the veteran head coach, he runs a tight ship. Belichick always has dating back to his days working under Bill Parcells with the New York Giants.
The Raiders are in need of this given the off-field drama that they’ve had since relocating from Oakland to Las Vegas ahead of the 2020 NFL season. From Jon Gruden’s drama and resignation to the entire Henry Ruggs situation and what we saw this past season, it’s been a complete dumpster fire.
Interim head coach Antonio Pierce changed the dynamics here after replacing McDaniels, posting a 5-4 record. The Raiders’ culture changed big time under him as well. Raiders players have gone to bat for Pierce, too. Meanwhile, Vegas’ interest in Jim Harbaugh might make this less realistic. But the fit is interesting.
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Washington Commanders get Bill Belichick
We read the rumors earlier this offseason. Washington potentially looking to trade for Belichick as a replacement for embattled head coach Ron Rivera. With Washington having finished 4-13 and firing Rivera, that’s magnified further.
The idea here would be for newish owner Josh Harris to bring in his own guy to change the culture within the Commanders’ organization. He talked a lot about culture after replacing the disgraced Daniel Snyder as Washington’s owner. At the very least, Belichick would do this. It also wouldn’t cost draft compensation following Thursday’s news.
Atlanta Falcons get their guy in Bill Belichick
A report after the Patriots and Belichick parted ways indicated that the Falcons are seen as the favorite to land the future Hall of Fame head coach. It makes sense in that Falcons owner Arthur Smith is in win-now mode. He also enjoys a relationship with Belichick.
Technically, things are in place for Atlanta to compete in the pedestrian AFC South moving forward. It has the skill-position talent in that of running back Bijan Robinson, tight end Kyle Pitts and wide receiver Drake London. What’s missing here is a reliable quarterback. The sense is that Belichick would be able to attract a veteran such as Russell Wilson to hold down the fort over the short term.
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Los Angeles Chargers shock will Bill Belichick hiring
It should not come as too much of a surprise that the Chargers were linked to Belichick long before his divorce with New England became official. The head coach is said to prefer a warmer weather climate. Los Angeles certainly qualifies.
From an on-field standpoint, he has a built-in franchise quarterback in that of Justin Herbert. Despite struggles this past season, the Chargers’ defense is not lacking from a talent standpoint. Joey Bosa, Asante Samuel Jr. and Derwin James are among the best players at their positions in the game. Belichick would be able to bring in his own guy to call the shots on offense, leading to improvement in that regard. It almost makes too much sense.
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Legendary head coach heads to the Dallas Cowboys
Mike McCarthy has his Cowboys look like legitimate Super Bowl contenders. But that means very little in the regular season. It’s going to be all about what “America’s Team” does in the playoffs, starting Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.
“I can tell you the story of every one of those disappointing years. I can go back and pick about four of those years that we had the goods to be there, but for whatever reason, we weren’t. The motivation is here and we created the motivation in what we do in presenting the Cowboys. We write a check with our mouth that our butt has to cover. Or should cover.”
Dallas Cowboys’ Jerry Jones after last season’s loss to the 49ers
Another playoff failure in January will likely lead to Jones moving off McCarthy. He’s patient. Just not that patient. If so, we know that the long-time owner loves to make those bold moves — both from a head coach and player personnel standpoint.
Heck, he brought in Belichick’s protégé, Bill Parcells, to replace Dave Campo as head coach back in 2003. Don’t think for a second that Jerry won’t kick the tires on this possibility should Dallas suffer yet another premature playoff exit.