Throughout the 2024 NFL season, it will be strange for NFL fans to not see Bill Belichick on the sidelines every Sunday. After twenty-four years in New England and not securing a job in the 2024 coaching cycle, a huge point of discussion will be where he could land in 2025. After a year away from coaching, I expect the greatest coach ever to have plenty of suitors come the new year where he will have his pick of the litter of job offers.
Let's examine five potential landing spots for Belichick when he makes his inevitable return to the NFL.
5. Philadelphia Eagles
I expect the Philadelphia Eagles to win the NFC East and return to the playoffs in 2024, as they are no doubt the best roster on paper in that division. However, the ending of last season is still jarring to me and with all the reports out there that quarterback Jalen Hurts and coach Nick Sirianni don't have the greatest relationship, I do have my eyes on the Eagles early on in the season. If the season starts to spiral out of control early, which leads to the Eagles missing the playoffs, Sirianni will be gone, and if Bill Belichick simply wants to coach the best roster available to him, the Eagles might find themselves as the frontrunners in the Belichick sweepstakes.
4. New York Giants
As long as the Giants are struggling and Belichick is available, there will be rumours about him ending his coaching career where it started when he was the defensive coordinator during their Super Bowl victories in the '80s. If Bill had his way, I truly believe this is the job he would want, but in the post-Tom Brady era in New England, he showed he cannot be trusted to coach a below-average quarterback or develop a young one. However, the Giants can move on from Daniel Jones fairly easily this offseason and I think it is more likely they’ll allow coach Brian Daboll to draft or bring in his next quarterback rather than let him go to bring in the soon-to-be 73-year-old.
3. Buffalo Bills
Bill to The Bills anyone? Belichick to Buffalo would be something I'd love to see, and I’m he would love to have the chance to coach a quarterback like Josh Allen while also having the opportunity kick the Patriots behinds twice a year. If Buffalo suffer another early playoff exit in 2024, although the Sean McDermott era has been the best stretch of Bills football since the 1990s, ownership might decide it’s time for a fresh voice. Could bringing in Belichick be the move to get them over the Super Bowl hump?
2. Dallas Cowboys
The idea of Bill Belichick going to Dallas is a topic that will be brought up all season long, but, I just don't see it happening. He will be 73 years old when the 2025 season kicks off and I don't think at that stage of his career, Belichick would want to deal with the constant media attention and owner like Jerry Jones. Not to mention, at the time when this job is potentially open, there is no guarantee that Dak Prescott will be in Dallas in 2025 with him scheduled to be a free agent in March. Combine all that, to me, it’s hard to see Belichick choosing the Cowboys as his next destination.
Jacksonville Jaguars
It may seem like an odd fit, but hear this out. A year before Tom Brady went to Tampa Bay, no one was talking about Brady going to an orginzation like the Buccaneers, even when rumours of 2019 being his last year in Foxborough began. Similarly, the idea of Bill Belichick heading to the Jacksonville Jaguars may seem odd now, but I think it is very real. If the Jags miss the playoffs again after investing heavily in Trevor Lawrence, there will be major changes, perhaps even at head coach. Belichick working with a talented young quarterback like Lawrence could be interesting to him and they do have pieces on the defensive side that he could believe he could get the best out of. All I'm saying is, don't be shocked if Belichick is on the sidelines in Duval County a year from now.
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