The NFL coaching carousel was thrown into a jolt with the news that Bill Belichick and the Patriots are parting ways.
While this news was speculated all season, the idea of Belichick coaching somewhere other than New England is going to take some getting used to, given that he spent nearly a quarter-century there and won six Super Bowls.
On ESPN’s “Get Up” on Thursday, NFL insider Adam Schefter was talking about what comes next, and included the juicy tidbit that the field for Belichick’s next team includes not just the seven franchises with head coach openings, but also ones that still have a coach under contract — including potential playoff teams.
“I think it would be a mistake to look at the board with just seven other openings right now,” Schefter said.
“We talked about this with Tom Brady when he became a free agent. Every team with a quarterback had to make a decision. Do we want to roll with Tom Brady or do we want to roll with our quarterback? And I think it’s similar with teams and their coaches. There may be a team out there out of the playoffs, in the playoffs, that has a head coach, that this morning woke up to the news that Bill Belichick is a free agent.
“And that owner is asking himself, ‘Is my franchise better off with the current head coach that I have or me making the dramatic move to turn to a man who’s 15 wins away from setting the all-time win record and breaking Don Shula’s record?'”
The Patriots and Bill Belichick will reportedly part ways on Thursday after 24 years and six Super Bowl wins.
Rumors had swirled around Belichick’s future all season as the Patriots finished with a 4-13 record and missed the playoffs for the third time in four seasons. Belichick met with Patriots owner Robert Kraft over the past several days before reaching the mutual decision.
Belichick notched a 266-121 overall record with the Patriots and has another 31 playoff victories.
The 71-year-old has no plans to retire, and needs just 15 more wins to match Don Shula’s all-time wins record — regular season and playoffs — by a head coach in NFL history.
The Falcons, who fired Arthur Smith after the season, are the most likely suitor for Belichick, according to ESPN.
Patriots inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo is the favorite to replace Belichick with Mike Vrabel, who was fired by the Titans, also a possibility. Others with prior ties to the Patriots, including Brian Flores and Josh McDaniels, could be in the mix as well.
Schefter reiterated that this hypothetical owner could conceivably preside over team whose season is not yet over.
“So I think the board is wide open, and I think today’s developments could lead to other changes, potentially, whether that’s with a team that’s in the playoffs, or out of the playoffs,” he said. “We will see.”
Looking at the NFL playoff landscape, one team that would be intriguing is the Eagles, who enter the postseason having lost five of their last six games.
If they fail to make it past the Buccaneers on Monday, the Eagles would plausibly make sense for Belichick because they have a solid core on offense in place with Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown, but a defense that could benefit from the coach’s expertise.
While Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has repeatedly expressed confidence in Mike McCarthy, one can never truly count him out from taking a big swing.
As far as a team that does have a current opening, Schefter cited the Falcons, who fired Arthur Smith earlier this week, at various times on ESPN on Thursday as a potential destination for Belichick.