Presumably Bill Belichick didn't build a resume after parting ways with New England earlier this month.
That's probably because his 302 regular-season wins, his 31 playoff victories, his 20 double-digit win seasons, his 17 division titles, his nine Super Bowl appearances and his six Vince Lombardi Trophies don't necessarily need to be flashy-displayed and uploaded to ZipRecruiter.
Or maybe they do.
Seven NFL teams (excluding New England) had or still have a head coaching vacancy: Atlanta, Carolina, Las Vegas, the Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle, Tennessee and Washington. At least five others must have had serious discussions about moving: Chicago, Dallas, both New York teams and Philadelphia.
So far, only one – Atlanta – has bothered to formally interview arguably the greatest and most successful coach in NFL history.
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The same confusion applies to the currently unemployed Pete Carroll, who has nine double-digit win seasons and a Super Bowl title of his own… but apparently no team is asking to talk to him? Snoop Dogg, of all people, said Carroll tried to push for the Chargers job. However, that's all we've heard.
Belichick may have had informal, random inquiries. He doesn't use social media (“face mask” or whatever his dad jokes) to post updates. However, NFL teams tend to announce who they interviewed, and aside from the Falcons (who spoke to Belichick twice), it was the Crickets.
How is that possible?
Is there no country for old men?
There's no way Belichick won't get hired somewhere? Right?
So far, only one team – the Atlanta Falcons – has shown interest in Bill Belichick. (Winslow Townson/Getty Images)
Have NFL team owners fallen for the ridiculous argument (more later) that New England was all about Tom Brady? Or are team presidents and general managers afraid of signing a bigger star and more energetic personality? Does Belichick have to work on Sean McVay's team for a season to become cool again?
Listen, maybe Belichick isn't your type. You may have concerns about his age (72 next season, same goes for 72-year-old Carroll). Maybe it's too current to look past the 4-13 Patriots last season. Maybe you just hated the guy when he ruled the league and routinely beat everyone.
So what?
Who else in the market has ever dominated the league and routinely beat everyone?
Give Atlanta credit. Belichick suffered the most crushing defeat in Falcons history and rebounded from a 28-3 deficit in Super Bowl LI. Falcons owner Arthur Blank doesn't hold it against him. If you couldn't defeat him, you should at least consider hiring him.
In a sign of how strange this all is, Dan Quinn, the current Cowboys defensive coordinator and then-Atlanta head coach who screwed Belichick's Patriots into the Super Bowl, has interviewed with the Chargers and Commanders and is scheduled to do so, according to numerous media reports Talk to Carolina and Seattle.
Make this make sense.
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No team needs to hire Bill Belichick. It's not that he is infallible or has no criticism or excessive questions. Maybe he's not the right one. Maybe he will fail. There is never a guarantee. But that almost no one even wanted to talk to him? Even if Belichick were invited to a fake interview — you know you're hiring someone else — it could prove invaluable.
Have you ever heard this guy talk about football, coaching, strategy, leadership, motivation, team building, etc.? Have you seen his appearances on NFL Network? Fortune 500 companies pay six figures for 45 minutes in the hope that it will inspire sales reps to offer more medical devices or life insurance.
You have a real professional football franchise and you can hire him for a full day with the freedom to ask anything. Hell, just let him sit around and tell stories of the old Bill Parcells and Lawrence Taylor, from his time as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants to two Super Bowls. Have you planned a better afternoon?
Yes, New England was terrible last season. Yes, Belichick's inability to find a viable quarterback after Brady's departure – let alone wide receivers and other talented players – doomed him. But to turn this into evidence that the Patriots' two decades of excellence were entirely the work of Brady is absurd. This is cheap talk show stuff. They were a couple, just like all great coaches and quarterbacks.
Brady didn't lead this epic New England defense. Brady didn't adapt the offense to different roster sets – a small-slot receiver era, a two-tight end era, a Randy Moss era, etc. Brady hadn't prepared Malcolm Butler to run the route. Brady hasn't changed the way the game is played, with the aggressiveness on fourth down, the concept of the middle eight minutes, or so on and so forth.
Year after year, New England has been the smartest, best coached and most solid team in the league.
Yes, the Patriots had Tom Brady. They also had Bill Belichick.
So why doesn't anyone want to at least interview him?