Why Jaguars Might Be Biggest Benefactor From UNC Hiring Bill Belichick

The Bill Belichick hire by the University of North Carolina could seriously pay off for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Nov 28, 2021; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick watches from the sideline as they take on the Tennessee Titans in the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

The biggest shock in recent football history became a reality this week: Bill Belichick is heading back to school.

The former Super Bowl-winning head coach had long been tied to the Jacksonville Jaguars and their potentially open head coaching job. Now, it is clear that if the Jaguars' gig comes open, Belichick won't be the coach who lands it.

There were plenty of reasons to think Belichick and the Jaguars made sense for each other. Shad Khan is one of the NFL's most patient and willingly supportive owners. He is willing to be hands off and let his football hires run their football program.

Few organizations in the NFL have a set-up to which Belichick could have walked in on Day 1 and have full control over. The Jaguars are one of those organizations, and perhaps the only one of which that will actually have a job opening this winter.

But with Belichick now heading to the college ranks to lead the Tar Heels, it is clear the NFL has moved on from the Patriots Way and Belichick's gruff and controlling style. And the Jaguars are, for a lack of a better phrase, better off this way.

Yes, Belichick is the ultimate winner and one of the best coaches not just in NFL history, but in the entire history of professional sports. He is one of the brightest minds in the sport's entire history.

But Belichick is also a short-term, band-aid fix. He is reaching into football's past instead of marching into the future. And with where the Jaguars are in 2024, they aren't in the position to be led by a coach with those characteristics.

The Jaguars need a long-term answer. They need their Mike Tomlin. Their Sean McDermott. What they don't need is an older coach who is likely to be around the team for, at best, the next three to five years.

Since the 2020 season, Khan has employed three different head coaches. If he fires Doug Pederson, he will be hiring his third new coach in five seasons. Khan needs to put an end to that cycle, and Belichick was never going to be that answer.

Belichick is one of the best coaches who has ever been around the game, but the Jaguars are better off not having the tempatation of hiring him becoming available to them.

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