Six-time Super Bowl champion head coach Bill Belichick is on the unemployment line. The defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers surprisingly fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks after their loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII.
In what would seem to be a case of strange bedfellows coming together, talk of Belichick joining Kyle Shanahan’s coaching staff in San Francisco has heated up. While there are no concrete rumors on this front, there is a lot of smoke.
Matt Barrows of The Athletic pointed to the mutual respect factor between Belichick and Shanahan in naming the former a candidate for the 49ers’ vacant defensive coordinator job. In particular, Shanahan’s comments regarding working with Belichick as San Francisco and New England pulled off the Jimmy Garoppolo trade during the 2017 season.
“It’s always hard to get trades done, but when you deal with someone who’s just about football and pretty simple and everything else, it’s easy to get stuff done. That’s why it’s really fun dealing with someone like Bill when you’re trying to make two teams better,” Kyle Shanahan on Bill Belichick.
There are ample reasons why Belichick to the 49ers makes absolutely no sense. We can break them down quickly below.
- Belichick runs a 3-4 defense. San Francisco has relied more on the 4-3 and wide-nine scheme under the likes of Robert Saleh, DeMeco Ryans and Wilks with Shanahan at the helm.
- A six-time Super Bowl champion going from the head coach of one of the greatest dynasties in football history to a defensive coordinator? Come on, that’s not happening.
- Shanahan’s power would be muted some by bringing in a coach who also had full player personnel control for a majority of his tenure with the New England Patriots. An ego clash could take hold.
These are the reasons that Belichick to the 49ers makes no sense. But there is also a counter for each one that suggests it could actually work.
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Belichick will turn 72 years old in April. His age is considered one of the primary reasons one of the greatest head coaches in modern NFL history did not land a job in this cycle. Potentially interested teams in that of the Las Vegas Raiders, Washington Commanders and Atlanta Falcons went in a younger direction.
Perhaps, Belichick decides that taking on a defensive coordinator job rather than sitting out a season makes the most sense. The work load would not be as intense for him. He’d be able to have full control over one of the best defenses in the NFL.
Belichick is a football lifer. He has been a coach in the NFL every year since all the way back in 1975 under Ted Marchibroda and the then-Baltimore Colts. Does he really want to sit on the sofa and let an NFL season play out without him as a part of it? We’re not too sure.
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San Francisco 49ers would hire Bill Belichick in a hot minute
Shanahan would not let ego get in the way of bringing in one of the greatest defensive minds in the history of the National Football League. That last point is not hyperbole, either.
In his 38 years as either a head coach or defensive coordinator in the NFL, Belichick has led 28 top-10 defenses. That’s historic stuff.
Would 49ers stars push back against going from a 4-3 to 3-4 scheme? Perhaps, if we were talking about another defensive coordinator candidate. There is absolutely no way the likes of Nick Bosa would turn down the opportunity to play under Belichick. That’s true even if he has to move to a stand-up outside linebacker position in comparison to his current role as a 4-3 end.
Will Bill Belichick to the San Francisco 49ers happen?
It remains highly unlikely for many of the reasons mentioned above. But the positives could very well outweigh the negatives.
Belichick and Shanahan would have to get together for a long conversation to figure several things out. A power-sharing model would have to be put in place.
For a 49ers team that still has a wide-open Super Bowl window, adding someone of Belichick’s ilk short-term would make a ton of sense.
In turn, Belichick opts to compete for another Lombardi instead of sitting out a season. He could then turn his attention to a potential head coach opening next cycle, something that already seems to be in the cards.
Just some food for thought.