Kyle Shanahan’s six-year-old comments on former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick have gone viral amid rumors that the latter could end up joining the San Francisco 49ers’ coaching staff.
It’s been more than a month now since Belichick and the Patriots parted ways following a 24-year run. And last week, Shanahan fired defensive coordinator Steve Wilks following a heartbreaking loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 58.
So it’s easy to play matchmaker between Belichick and the 49ers. The greatest defensive-minded coach of all-time joining an annual Super Bowl contender that keeps falling just short of its ultimate goal. It makes perfect sense on paper.
Patrick Holloway of Niners Nation brought up comments Shanahan shared on Belichick back in January 2019. Speaking on potential coaching staff changes, Shanahan simply stated he wouldn’t do it unless a legend like Belichick himself was a free agent:
“No, I don’t see myself making any specific changes. I like our staff a lot. I think we’ve got some good coaches. I think there’s areas we can all get better in. I have an obligation to this organization that, just like I say with any player, when you guys ask me, ‘Hey, is this guy tradeable or anything like that?’ I’ll never say no one’s for sure not. I mean, if Bill Belichick became available two weeks from now and said he wants to come here, and I was told I had to let someone go to bring him in, that would probably be a smart decision to do that. I’m not going to ever say that everyone is just totally safe forever.”
Well, Belichick remains a free agent after being passed over in the latest NFL head coach hiring cycle. Shanahan already made a change by firing Wilks, so now Belichick is right there for the taking if Shanahan wants him.
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The Patriots consistently churned out a top-10 defense during Belichick’s 24-year tenure. His genius defensive gameplans shut down a plethora of the league’s best offenses during New England’s dynastic run (Kurt Warner’s Rams, Peyton Manning’s Colts, Philip Rivers’ Chargers, just to name a few).
So if Shanahan meant what he said back in 2019, we can only ask this: What’s stopping him from bringing in Belichick as his defensive coordinator now?
