What's next for Bill Belichick after Falcons choose different coach?
What's next for Bill Belichick after Falcons choose different coach? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Bill Belichick is still unemployed and the one team he has interviewed with has chosen to go in a different direction.
The Atlanta Falcons will hire Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris as their next head coach, per multiple reports. This will be Morris' second stint as a full-time NFL head coach. He went 17-31 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009 through 2011, and he also went 4-7 with the Falcons in 2020 as their interim head coach.
So, what's next for Belichick?
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported Thursday that the former New England Patriots head coach doesn't have any more interviews scheduled at this time.
The #Falcons were the only team to interview legendary coach Bill Belichick, and there are no known scheduled interviews. Potentially, Belichick could sit out the year and await an opportunity in 2025.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 25, 2024
The only teams left with head coach vacancies are the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders. The Seahawks are a playoff contender in the NFC, while the Commanders are in the early stages of a rebuild.
Bill Belichick is currently viewed as a long shot for the Commanders and Seahawks coaching vacancies, sources said. It’d take a change of direction for something to happen with either team.
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) January 25, 2024
ESPN's Adam Schefter talked Thursday morning on Get Up! about the possibility of Belichick taking over for Andy Reid if the Kansas City Chiefs head coach retires. Schefter was very adamant that this was pure speculation on his part, but it's still pretty interesting nonetheless.
"The only thing I would just say and, again, this is purely speculative: I want to be very clear. And we're just throwing this out there, having some fun, but we've heard over and over about the possibility that, at some point in time, Andy Reid could walk away from football," Schefter said.
"So if the Chiefs were to win the Super Bowl this year, would that make him more likely to walk? And if he did walk, at that point in time and you're the Kansas City Chiefs and Bill Belichick were still sitting out there, would that not be an interesting possibility? If that's what Andy Reid decided to do, to go take a run at arguably the greatest coach of all time and to replace one legend with another? Again, we're having fun. We're throwing things out there, but it's interesting to watch if the Chiefs can find a way to win the Super Bowl."
Another option for Belichick is doing TV for a year and maybe returning to coaching in 2025. You'd have to assume someone of his stature would be coveted by the networks.
Our Patriots insider Tom E. Curran discussed that possibility following Belichick's final game as head coach of the Patriots earlier this month.
Should Bill Belichick take a year off from coaching and try out broadcasting before possibly moving on to a new team?@tomecurran explains why that could be the right move pic.twitter.com/0h0RPrwVxH
— NBC Sports Boston's Patriots Coverage (@NBCSPatriots) January 7, 2024
Belichick is 71 years old. There's not much left for him to accomplish besides breaking Don Shula's all-time coaching wins record, but it's not like he needs that to secure his place as the best coach in league history.
It'll be fascinating to see how the next year plays out for the six-time Super Bowl champion.