Several NFL teams might part ways with their head coaches later this season, and when they do, they’d be wise to consider Bill Belichick. The former New England Patriots head coach, a future Hall of Famer, currently works as a football analyst after failing to land a coaching job in the offseason. With six Super Bowl titles to his name, he should be a top candidate for any team with a coaching vacancy, either later this season or in 2025.
The question remains whether Belichick would be interested in returning mid-season. NBC Sports Boston’s Patriots insider Phil Perry shared his thoughts, expressing doubt that Belichick would want to jump back into coaching under those circumstances.
“I don’t think he’d want to return that way,” Perry said. “I believe he wants to coach again, but he’d prefer to have things set up according to his vision. He’s very methodical, and mid-season would be difficult—it could go poorly. He’d likely want a full offseason to build his program the way he likes, rather than taking over a struggling team mid-season, where failure could be unfairly blamed on him.”
A recent report mentioned that “people close to Belichick believe he still wants to coach, at least long enough to surpass Don Shula on the all-time wins list by getting 15 more victories.” ESPN’s Adam Schefter added that Belichick is “expected to be selective” if he returns to the sideline.
However, Tom Giles, host of Early Edition, isn’t as sure Belichick would pass up a mid-season opportunity.
“If he takes over mid-season, it’ll be for a struggling, underachieving team,” Giles said. “I could see him stepping in, winning a few games. He may not take them to the Super Bowl right away, but he might get tired of media work and see it as a chance he doesn’t want to wait for.”
If Belichick does return, the NFC East seems a likely destination, with the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys both 1-2, putting head coaches Brian Daboll and Mike McCarthy under pressure. Even Philadelphia Eagles coach Nick Sirianni could face scrutiny if the team fails to meet expectations again.
