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To the surprise of many if not all NFL fans, six-time Super Bowl winning head coach Bill Belichick, after parting ways with the New England Patriots, did not find a new home during the offseason.
Even though he’s widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches in the history of the National Football League, the 71-year-old future Hall of Famer did not find a new job this cycle despite the fact that eight teams were in the market for a new head coach.
Speaking on his Let’s Go! podcast this week, Tom Brady — who played under Belichick for 20 seasons in New England — weighed in on the fact that Belichick remains jobless and says that he’s “surprised” by it.
“I don’t know the criteria for hiring coaches. I’ve never been a part of it. I mean, I’m surprised that the greatest coach ever doesn’t have a job, absolutely. But I’m surprised [by] a lot of things in the NFL,” Brady said.
According to a report from The Athletic, there are apparently three major reasons why Belichick didn’t get hired: “The mishandling of the quarterback room in New England over the last few years, wanting to have full control of football operations, and the fact that there is/was a growing concern that he cannot relate to players in the modern era.”
While Belichick is undoubtedly a Mount Rushmore NFL head coach, there’s no denying that his four years without Brady were a far cry from the dominance that the Patriots had become known for, as they did not win the AFC East in any of those seasons and only qualified for the playoffs once (as a Wild Card team).
He also drafted and banked on former University of Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, who many analysts believe does not have the makings of a franchise quarterback.
With Belichick now guaranteed to sit out the 2024 season, he’ll surely be keeping an eye on teams such as the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles, who both have playoff-caliber rosters and head coaches on thin ice.
The New York Jets also fit that criteria, although Belichick returning to the team would be shocking considering the way he departed the franchise almost 25 years ago.