After more than two decades at the helm of the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick suddenly became a free agent. Surprisingly, the six-time Super Bowl champion hasn’t drawn so much interest in the league, and his only possibility of landing a head coaching job in 2024 seems to rely on the Commanders’ opening.
But unless Washington gives him that opportunity, all signs are pointing towards Belichick not coaching next season. That doesn’t mean his career is over, though. Many teams could still want him in 2025, especially if things don’t go to plan with their current coaches. And it looks like the Philadelphia Eagles could be one of those teams.
According to Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal, the Eagles considered hiring Belichick if they didn’t find a solution with Nick Sirianni after a disappointing 2023 season. In fact, Philadelphia could still revisit that interest in the event of another underwhelming campaign.
Eagles reportedly interested in Belichick
“Probably the most interesting thing that I’ve heard — and this is just Senior Bowl rumor mill — is that the Eagles were very interested in Belichick if things didn’t work out with Nick Sirianni and they could be at the front of the line if things again go poorly for [Sirianni] next year,” Bedard said in an appearance on ‘Felger & Mazz’ on 98.5 The Sports Hub, via SB Nation.
Head coach Nick Sirianni talks with Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles during the second half of a game against the Miami Dolphins at Lincoln Financial Field on October 22, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The Eagles had meetings with Sirianni following a blowout loss to the Buccaneers in the Wild Card game, which ended their Super Bowl hopes prematurely. While they kept Sirianni at head coach, the team did make a number of changes around his coaching staff. It looks like if Sirianni wasn’t on board with that, Belichick could have emerged as a candidate to take over.
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“Similar to Doug Pederson [after the 2020 season], Doug Pederson was coming back until he had that postseason meeting with Howie [Roseman] and Jeffrey Lurie. And they wanted Doug Pederson to do certain things, fire certain people, and he wouldn’t do it, so he got fired. Apparently, Nick Sirianni was amenable to all that stuff so they decided for one more year to keep him.“
Belichick is still without a team for 2024
Despite being the architect of a dynasty in Foxborough, Belichick’s market this offseason was quite dry. He was expected to take over in Atlanta after being interviewed twice by the Falcons, but they ended up hiring Raheem Morris.
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The other openings in the league immediately started to close, with the Panthers hiring Dave Canales, the Chargers appointing Jim Harbaugh, and the Seahawks bringing in Mike Macdonald. Only time will tell whether something new pops up for the most successful coach in NFL history.
