In 1975, Bill Belichick was hired as a “special assistant” by Ted Marchibroda’s Baltimore Colts, landing him his first NFL coaching position. To put that in perspective, consider how long ago George Blanda, now 48 years old – George Blanda! — was still an NFL player. Robert Kraft was the Boston Lobsters’ World Team Tennis team’s little-known partial owner a very long time ago. Most NFL fans under 50 do not remember the Colts ever being based in Baltimore because it was so long ago.
The Bill Belichick of 2024 looks like this: He is a traveling rock star and raconteur who draws enthusiastic crowds wherever he travels while sharing anecdotes from his half-century in the NFL and discussing the inner workings of football (and lacrosse!).
If you’ve ever seen the movie “History of the World: Part 1,” you may remember Mel Brooks saying, “It’s good to be the king.” And the same is true with Belichick. Bill is a good person.Yes, it has to be said for record-keeping purposes that Belichick was let go as the New England Patriots’ head coach at the end of the 2023 campaign, but for the time being, it appears like he is enjoying not having to deal with the pressures of being an NFL sideline boss.
He appears well and is wealthy. When Belichick, 72, was spotted with a younger woman, the public opinion peanut gallery reacted in a variety of ways, from pearl-clutching to attaboying. He has committed to a wide range of lucrative media appearances. His son Steve is the new defensive coordinator for the University of Washington, where he was observed watching a spring football practice. He went to see Northwestern University play Ohio State in women’s lacrosse.
Oh, then there was the visit in the spring with the Nebraska football team, which comprised a lengthy, in-depth session with the coaching staff and a clinic with the players. Here are some highlights for anyone who missed Cornhusker coach Matt Rhule getting giddy over Bill:
“He is so smart, has seen so much, that he can make the complex so simple, that it humbles you and embarrasses you,” Rhule said. “I was embarrassed yesterday listening to him, how smart he is, how simple it was.
“He went 4 1/2 hours just with the coaches — forget the clinic,” stated the Nebraska coach, who was born on January 31, 1975—precisely when Belichick was preparing for his senior year’s spring semester at Wesleyan University. He visited and had a meeting with our coaching team. After three quarters of an hour, I said to Coach, “Coach, would you like a water?” or coffee? Do you want to go to the bathroom? because I had to go to the bathroom so badly.
“And he’s like, ‘I’m fine, man,’” Rhule said. “And I was, like, yesssss sir. Just sitting there and just talking, and his recalls from things 15 years ago … the only reason why we don’t get through more information is because he’s having to slow down to make sure you know what he’s saying.”
See? Bill, good to be. It does not seem to be the case for anyone who believes he is imprisoned away on Nantucket, spinning ball bearings in his palm and yearning for the glamour and flash of the NFL.
Kyle Shanahan offered Bill Belichick any job that he wanted including Defensive Coordinator..
Could you fathom Bill with that San Francisco 49ers defense #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/4KPa0YnlT5
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 24, 2024
However, it seems inevitable that Belichick will return to coaching at some point, ideally sooner rather than later. One early-season, late-afternoon loss is all it will take for an owner to lose their cool. And then, viola: Bill Belichick appears at the inaugural news conference, gushing about how thrilled he is to be the new head coach of (insert team name here).
Aside from receiving a ton of money, Belichick is motivated to overtake the late Don Shula in terms of NFL coaching victories all-time. Yes, that is largely accurate. In his 33 seasons with the Miami Dolphins (1970–1995) and the former Baltimore Colts (1963–1969), Shula racked up 347 head coaching victories (playoffs included). Belichick, on the other hand, has 333 coaching triumphs and needs just 15 more joyful postgame handshakes to take the top spot.
It is necessary to provide some background, which is why I am disclosing that this is largely true. Yes, we all have egos, but come on, it is amazing to be the NFL leader of all time in anything.
There is another group of people who think Belichick wants to access the afterlife in order to give Shula some kind of divine retribution. Recall that Shula made some fairly unpleasant remarks following the revelation that Belichick’s 2007 Patriots had surreptitiously recorded defensive signals being sent along by Jets coaches.
“The Spygate thing has diminished what they’ve accomplished,” Shula told the New York Daily News. “You would hate to have that attached to your accomplishments. They’ve got it.”
Additionally, Shula was quoted calling Belichick a “Beli-cheat.” Though not particularly novel, especially significant given Shula’s significance to NFL history.
However, Belichick is motivated to coach in the NFL for a record-breaking amount of time because of that same word: history. Considering that Bill has not extended an invitation for me to visit the island so we may discuss this over grilled king salmon paillard at Ships Inn, I think Bill is drawn to the past.
We have all heard the tales of Belichick’s vast collection of important books on football history and his ownership of said history. We have heard about his Friday news conferences during the Patriot years, when Belichick would stray into football history after the Sunday game plan was decided, all of the media questions had been answered, and the interview room was now populated only by dependable beat writers who genuinely knew a little bit about the game. Bill could narrate the stories without using notes, thus it was Story Time with him.
Belichick has accomplished a great deal in the past. He has coached six Super Bowl-winning teams, for crying out loud. If you include his time as a defensive mastermind with the New York Giants under Bill Parcells, that makes eight Super Bowl-winning teams.
Bill Belichick giving a lengthy breakdown on Drake Maye pic.twitter.com/u7S1CzR5qS
— Savage (@SavageSports_) July 24, 2024
If you like, we can discuss about ego. Let us discuss Shula repayment. However, I contend that Belichick is inspired and motivated by history. In the meanwhile, there is the football team at Nebraska and the women’s lacrosse team at Northwestern, in addition to heavy-coin TV shows like “Inside the NFL” on The CW, the “Manningcast” on ESPN, and others.
Bill is a decent guy, all right. It will be even sweeter for Belichick if he records his 348th coaching victory.
(Photo of Bill Belichick greeting Tom Brady during his Patriots Hall of Fame induction ceremony in June: Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty Images)
