It was a surprise this past offseason when legendary New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick didn’t land one of the available job openings around the league, as many pictured him landing with the Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Chargers, or one of the other teams in need of a new coach.
That didn’t happen, and Belichick has been taking his time off in stride and giving fans a chance to get to know him better by doing more media appearances.
Even though he has clearly been enjoying his time away from coaching, it’s widely expected that he’ll look to return to the sideline next year, as one insider recently named the three best coaching fits for Belichick.
In her latest article for The Athletic, Dianna Russini shared that the Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the three teams she has heard as potential landing spots.
Russini asked ten coaches and executives around the league where they believed was the best landing spot for Belichick, and the Jaguars’ job was the one that came up most often.
Jacksonville and Dallas appear likely to fire their coaches this offseason, as Doug Pederson and Mike McCarthy have led tumultuous seasons and regressed considerably from last year.
Tampa Bay is 4-6 under Todd Bowles, who is in his third year as the team’s head coach and seems like the least likely option.
The common sentiment is that Belichick won’t take over a team that doesn’t have a strong quarterback situation, and all three of these teams have their franchise QBs locked in for years to come.
It’s still strange not seeing Belichick on Sundays, but it seems like a good bet that he’ll be back somewhere next year.
