Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was unexpectedly passed over in the 2024 NFL hiring cycle. Well, we can promise you that the same mistake will not be made again in the new year.
Someone is going to hire the greatest head coach of all time to fill their vacancy. It’s not a stretch to suggest that almost a dozen teams might seriously consider Belichick…but which clubs actually make the most sense for him?
Here are five teams that should hire Bill Belichick as their new head coach ASAP, and five he should stay away from.
Which teams should hire legendary head coach Bill Belichick?
Should Hire: Dallas Cowboys
Many folks are skeptical that Jerry Jones would seriously consider bringing in Belichick for obvious reasons. They think the two prideful men who carry giant egos would clash and butt heads too often, not to mention that Jerry would probably refuse to give Bill any real say in personnel decisions.
But if Belichick and Jones could just somehow learn to play nice and share, this would be the perfect match on paper.
The Cowboys have all the talent in the world to be a consistent Super Bowl contender. It’s just mediocre coaching and a lack of fundamentals that have led to all these awful playoff meltdowns.
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Jerry and his coaches of choice — namely Barry Switzer, Jason Garrett and Mike McCarthy — wouldn’t keep players accountable. Now imagine if Belichick came in, put an end to the media circuses and made players focus strictly on football.
Belichick would have a top-five offense AND defense here. He would fully maximize a roster led by Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Zack Martin, Micah Parsons, Dexter Lawrence, and Trevon Diggs.
Dallas’ defense always implodes in January, but that wouldn’t happen under Belichick’s watch. His championship coaching, experience, and defensive tactics would put Dallas in the best position to succeed in any given playoff game.
The assumption here is that Belichick would only want to coach a team in win-now mode. Jerry isn’t afraid to spend the money and supply his coaches with all-world talent. Again, this is the best fit for Belichick if he and Jones can put their differences aside and focus solely on building a championship team.
Avoid: New York Giants
Belichick’s love and admiration for the Giants organization has been well-documented. Before becoming a head coach, he was a Giants assistant from 1979 to 1990 — including six years as their defensive coordinator.
Belichick and Bill Parcells helped Lawrence Taylor and the Giants to two Super Bowl championships, making the former a household name long before he became the Patriots’ head coach and architect of their 21st-century dynasty.
Belichick might be appealed by the idea of returning to the old stomping grounds, but the Giants do not make sense for a coach who will be 73 years of age.
The Giants have one of the league’s worst rosters from top to bottom. Daniel Jones is likely a goner after this year, but then what? Belichick will have to begin a rebuild with a question mark at QB? The o-line needs to be rebuilt around Andrew Thomas, and more weapons around Malik Nabers are needed.
The defense has three studs in Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns, and Kayvon Thibodeaux….and then nothing else. Belichick would have to rebuild the secondary completely, not to mention play in a division with Jalen Hurts, Dak Prescott, and rising star Jayden Daniels.
Regarding the actual roster, there’s little that should entice Belichick here. If the Giants end up replacing Brian Daboll, they better look elsewhere.
Should Hire: Cincinnati Bengals
We like Zac Taylor as a head coach, but the Bengals will need to seriously ponder a change if they miss the postseason again — especially if a marquee name like Belichick is available.
There’s a lot to like about a Belichick-Bengals pairing here. He’d surely love the chance to work with Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, both top-five players in the league at their respective positions.
Belichick could easily unlock the potential of a good-not-great Bengals defense led by Trey Hendrickson, Sam Hubbard, Logan Wilson, Mike Hilton, and Cam Taylor-Britt.
One problem for the Bengals has been finishing out close games — with Super Bowl 56 vs. the Los Angeles Rams and the 2022 AFC title game against the Kansas City Chiefs coming to mind. There isn’t a coach better suited to handle such situations than the man who owns eight Super Bowl rings.
The Bengals’ wide-open championship window with Burrow and Chase makes them perfect for Belichick, who could further cement his legacy by leading another franchise to its first Super Bowl.
Avoid: New Orleans Saints
Unless the Saints make a surprise return to the postseason, it feels like a blow-it-up rebuild is coming. Dennis Allen isn’t it as a head coach. GM Mickey Loomis — if he’s even retained — needs to cut or trade as many expensive veteran contracts as possible.
He could get something for the likes of Marshon Lattimore, Cameron Jordan, Tyrann Mathieu, DeMario Davis — and he might as well bite the bullet on Derek Carr and cut bait.
Either scenario isn’t good for Belichick. He’s either taking over a “mushy middle” team that might be good enough to make the postseason, but not good enough to realistically push for a Super Bowl. If the Saints rebuild? Why would Belichick want to go there?
At this point, the Saints are looking at a rebuild that will take a minimum of three years. Why partner up with Bill Belichick when you can bring in a new quarterback and a young, offensive-minded head coach to steer the rebuild?
Stay away, Bill. Stay away, New Orleans. Look elsewhere.
Should Hire: Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jaguars look like a dumpster fire on paper right now, but we remain convinced that the right head coach would fix Trevor Lawrence and turn the long-struggling AFC South club back into a Super Bowl contender.
We saw the Jags hit their potential in the second half of 2022…and for most of 2023 when they jumped out to an 8-3 start. But this team has inexplicably folded under Doug Pederson, and changes are in order at the front office and coaching departments.
There’s just too much young talent for this team to rebuild. Lawrence, Travis Etienne Jr., Brian Thomas, Christian Kirk, Josh Hines-Allen, Travon Walker and Tyson Campbell. This is not a core you tear down and rebuild from scratch.
So yeah, it would be perfect if the Jaguars told Belichick to fill out a blank cheque with his asking price and hire him as their next head coach. Owner Shad Khan has never been shy about spending big money, and playing in a state with no income tax means Jacksonville can outbid any other suitors for Belichick.
Bring in the GOAT of coaches to fix this broken but ultra-talented Jaguars team, and just maybe, they can become a long-term championship contender.
Avoid: Las Vegas Raiders
If Mark Davis decides to move on from Antonio Pierce after this season? It’ll be easy to immediately link Belichick to the Silver and Black.
Belichick has an admiration for historic and storied franchises. If Davis could give Jon Gruden $100 million despite being out of coaching for nine years, who’s to say he wouldn’t hand Belichick an even larger annual salary?
Davis might feel inclined to spend top dollar on a big-named head coach to extend the brand of his big-market football team. But this is not the ideal fit for multiple reasons.
For one, we’re not sure this is the place that helps Belichick win. The Raiders lack a suitable long-term option at QB. The Davante Adams saga means the Raiders are back to searching for a new No. 1 receiver. And the defense is basically single-handedly carried by Maxx Crosby.
Also, how did it work when the Raiders hired Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler again? The Raiders got tired of McDaniels early, and Belichick is even more no-nonsense and harder on his players than the former. Not seeing how Raiders players would embrace Belichick’s military-style coaching ways if they didn’t like McDaniels.
The Raiders need to draft and develop a new QB. Belichick couldn’t do that with Mac Jones, so he doesn’t feel like the right fit for a Raiders team that has plenty of roster holes that must be fixed.
Should Hire: Chicago Bears
Remember what we said about Belichick’s appreciation for historic NFL teams? Doesn’t get much more historic than the team that’s been around since 1920.
However, aside from the historical aspect, the Bears make perfect sense for Bill here. They are building something special there with rookie QB Caleb Williams and an underrated defense, but it feels like they could upgrade at head coach.
Matt Eberflus’ defense has fared just fine, but the offense has never found its groove under his leadership. Williams, Rome Odunze, and DJ Moore could use a more old-school coach who would bring “tough love” like Belichick.
Before he turned pro, there were concerns about Williams’ character and attitude. Maybe he just needs the best head coach in NFL history to bring a strict approach to help him stay focused and driven to succeed.
The Bears have the pieces on both sides of the ball to be a perennial contender. It’s about bringing in the right coach to combine the ingredients of a tasty championship recipe — hence giving Chef Belichick a call.
Avoid: Carolina Panthers
As one of football’s richest owners, it’s not hard to envision a scenario where David Tepper offers a record-setting contract to Belichick to save his sinking ship.
It’d be a bad look on Tepper if he made another coach, in this case Dave Canales, one-and-done. But Tepper is the type of guy who thinks he can take shortcuts to building a team, so what if he were to try to entice Belichick with a pot of gold?
Don’t do it, coach. Tepper is the worst owner in the NFL now that Dan Snyder is gone. They’re probably restarting at QB with Bryce Young destined to go down as a bust, and developing young signal-callers isn’t your greatest strength, Bill.
Should we mention the awful offensive line? The helpless defense? The fact that 34-year-old Adam Thielen and pending free agent Diontae Johnson are Carolina’s two best weapons? Yeah, no thanks.
Don’t do it, Bill. Do not be enticed by whatever money Tepper may flash at you. Stay far away.
Should Hire: Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles look semi-broken to us under head coach Nick Sirianni. The insane talent level is preventing them from sinking to the land of irrelevance, but it feels like Sirianni has already lost the room.
Jalen Hurts’ peculiar regression falls on the so-called offensive genius who has proven unable to adapt his system. And maybe, just maybe, Sirianni benefitted from two great coordinators in Jonathan Gannon and Shane Steichen, before they left for head coaching gigs in 2023.
We love the idea of Belichick taking over this star-studded Eagles roster. He would clear out all distractions and get this team back to the fundamentals and basics that willed them to a Super Bowl appearance two years ago.
The Eagles D might stop underachieving for once, too. Imagine Belichick running a unit led by Jalen Carter, Josh Sweat, Jordan Davis, Cooper DeJean, Quinyon Mitchell, and Darius Slay. Yeah, this guy would restore the EAgles as a prime Super Bowl contender.
Philly can’t let Sirianni squander another year of this supremely talented roster. So if Belichick likes the fit, owner Jeffrey Lurie and GM Howie Roseman need to be on this ASAP.
Avoid: New York Jets
If the Jets fall way short of their championship goals in 2024, you gotta think Robert Saleh will be shown the door. Four seasons was more than enough time for him to get his program going.
At first glance, Bill Belichick to the Jets makes perfect sense. Big-market team in win-now mode with Aaron Rodgers and an elite defense. Owner Woody Johnson would be desperate enough to meet Belichick’s salary demands. And oh, maybe Bill wants to stick it to Robert Kraft and the archrival Patriots?
And maybe the Jets want to make up for the disaster of letting Belichick leave for the Patriots in 2000. Make amends a quarter-century later and see if he can guide this team to that long-awaited first Super Bowl title in almost 60 years. Why not?
No, it doesn’t make sense when you take a deep step back and look at the big picture.
Rodgers’ relationship with his coaches always seems to sour. First, it was Mike McCarthy, then Matt LaFleur, and now Saleh. You really think he’d play nice with the “tough love” and grumpy Belichick? Do you think Bill would want his QB to go on podcasts and float strange conspiracy theories?
You think Bill Belichick would let Rodgers completely run the offense and locker room on his own? Course not, and we should mention that 41-year-old Rodgers isn’t going to play much longer.
That means Belichick would soon be tasked with rebuilding the Jets, which isn’t the ideal scenario for either side. So yes, Belichick and the Jets should have zero interest in mending fences from the 2000 fiasco. Both parties can find better fits.
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