Bill Belichick 'Very Surprised' NFL Teams Haven't Reached Out About Head Coaching Jobs

The ex-New England Patriot is looking to return to the sidelines in 2025.

Then-New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick on Dec 24, 2023. / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is "very surprised" he hasn't heard from an NFL team regarding a coaching job, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio has reported.

Of the three teams with head coach vacancies—which would be the New York Jets, the New Orleans Saints, and the Chicago Bears—none have reached out to Belichick, Florio says, noting that "it’s not known with certainty that there has been no contact from teams that have yet to fire their coaches," and "regardless, there’s no clear connection between Belichick and a potential vacancy, for now."

Meanwhile, though, Belichick is courting interest from the University of North Carolina, for which head coaching talks are still ongoing, ESPN added Monday morning. A resolution on that front is reportedly expected this week.

After parting ways with the Pats in early 2024, Belichick tried and failed to become head honcho for the Atlanta Falcons. So while his interest in college ball is somewhat surprising, if not just uncharacteristic, it does make more sense when you consider the 72-year-old has been looking to return to the sidelines somewhere in 2025. If he is given an offer, he is expected to take it, per The Athletic's Diana Russini.

Asked Sunday if they could see Belichick coaching at a college level, former Patriots Tom Brady, Julian Edelman, and Rob Gronkowski all said no, specifically due to the recruiting aspect.

"I think there's a lot of things he could do," Brady said of Belichick. "And obviously he's tremendous—even showing his personality. But getting out there on the recruiting trail and dealing with all these college kids? That would be frightening."

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