Blockbuster news broke this week when Bill Belichick, the six-time Super Bowl champion, decided to take over the head coaching job at the University of North Carolina. It is a move the football world has never really seen before. Only one other coach with three or more Super Bowl titles has ever gone on to coach in college—Bill Walsh. This is a decision nobody expected, yet it happened. It has left many to wonder if Belichick even considered one more run at an NFL job.
The simple answer is yes. He and a team of people he trusts evaluated potential landing spots for next year. New York, Dallas, and Jacksonville were all mentioned. However, each of them had issues he didn't want to deal with. The Giants have a rebuild looming. Jerry Jones is an ongoing issue in Dallas. Jacksonville has serious questions regarding its ownership. Yet none of those teams were considered the best possible landing spot in Belichick's eyes. Seth Wickersham of ESPN revealed who it was.
Which NFL teams might make a coaching change this year? And of those teams, which of them might be interested in a 72-year-old, eight-time Super Bowl champion? And of those teams, which would Belichick want most?
According to sources with direct knowledge, the group deemed that the Chicago Bears were probably the most attractive job, but that team brass was unlikely to consider Belichick.
Bill Belichick would've been a wild outcome.
The Bears haven't employed a coach of that stature and prestige since George Halas retired in 1968. Imagine Bill Belichick chasing the all-time wins record in a Bears hoodie. That would've been difficult to process. It is likely he coveted the job because of the setup. They have a young quarterback in Caleb Williams, who appears to have genuine star potential. Their roster has made progress over the past couple of years, especially on the defensive side. They have plenty of resources to attack this off-season. Lastly, GM Ryan Poles was mentored by Scott Pioli, the man who helped Belichick build his first New England Patriots dynasty from 2001 to 2004. Yeah, it is a pretty good setup from his perspective.
Just not the Bears. From their viewpoint, this isn't the same coach as a few years ago. Belichick is 72 and has only two winning seasons out of ten where Tom Brady wasn't his quarterback. They had no reason to trust he'd be able to maximize Williams at this stage of his career.
