The Belichick watch is on

The 2024 season is settling in. The 2025 offseason will soon begin to come into focus.

Coaches will be fired; that’s inevitable. Candidates working with other teams will emerge. That’s inevitable, too.

One candidate is already known. And he’s currently unattached. Any owner can decide during the season to make a beeline for Bill Belichick when the season ends, if not sooner. (And we know that happens, even if it shouldn’t.)

Here’s the first (and possibly only) installment of our Belichick Watch List. These are the teams that could be interested in hiring the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach. Not that are or should be (or shouldn’t be) but could be.

Many believe the biggest factor for Belichick’s next job will be whether and to what extent an owner is willing to give contractual, if not de facto, control over the team to Belichick. If it was clear he would be the coach and only the coach, with no effort or inclination to make personnel decisions, he’d already have a job. In Atlanta, or possibly in Washington. His potential unwillingness to operate within a structure that has him reporting to a younger, less experienced, and far less accomplished G.M. was enough to steer people like new Arthur Blank’s Falcons Ring of Honor member Arthur Blank clear of him.

There’s an important threshold factor that some owners might consider. Does the fanbase want Belichick?

It’s hardly a given. Last year, once it became clear Belichick and the Patriots would be going their separate ways, we posted a poll on Twitter that posed a very broad and general question. If your favorite team is looking for a coach this offseason, do you want Belichick? Roughly three out of four who responded said no.

That’s probably one of the reasons why Belichick decided to dip a toe in the media pool. Before he opted instead for a cannonball.

He’s overexposed, to the point where the natural reaction might be, “Who cares?” Yes, he has said some interesting things. But most of it is noise. And his delivery…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/belichick-watch-143433741.html

Author : ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-09-28 14:34:33

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