Patriots' Bill Belichick Eyeing NFL Return, But With Exception

Former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick is considering a return to the NFL, but there is a catch.

Feb 4, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick speaks flanked by the Vince Lombardi trophy during Super Bowl LIII winning team press conference at Georgia World Congress Center. The Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 to win an NFL record-tying sixth championship Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

There have been questions as to whether or not New England Patriots legend Bill Belichick will ever coach in the NFL again, but apparently, Belichick hasn't given up hope.

ESPN's Adam Schefter is reporting that Belichick is eyeing a head-coaching return for 2025. However, Schefter notes that Belichick will be "choosy" during the process.

In other words, the 72-year-old is not just going to return to the sidelines on a whim.

You have to figure that if Belichick does indeed return to coaching, it will only be with a contending team—or at least one that could potentially see contention on the horizon.

Additionally, it seems hard to imagine that Belichick would take a job where he has to answer to a head coach.

For example, both the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams considered Belichick for their respective defensive coordinator positions this past offseason, but Belichick did not seem to have much interest in either occupancy.

Belichick did interview for the Atlanta Falcons' head-coaching job earlier in the offseason, but the Falcons decided to go with Raheem Morris.

There was also speculation that Belichick could become the head coach of either the Dallas Cowboys or the Philadelphia Eagles, but both clubs decided to retain their current coaches.

Of course, Belichick spent 24 seasons as Patriots head coach, leading the franchise to six Super Bowl championships, nine Super Bowl appearances and 17 AFC East titles. That included a stretch of 11 straight division crowns between 2009 and 2019.

However, after Tom Brady's departure from New England in March 2020, Belichick and the Pats fell on hard times.

The Patriots went just 29-36 between 2020 and 2023, making just one playoff appearance throughout that span. This past year, New England went 4-13, marking its worst finish since 1992.

After the 2023 campaign concluded, Belichick and the Pats parted ways, ending Belichick's historic run in Foxborough.

The game has certainly changed in recent years, and some have wondered if Belichick's coaching tactics have become outdated.

That being said, there is no doubting that Belichick is one of the best coaches to ever grace the gridiron, and a return to the NFL can never be entirely dismissed.

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