The former Patriots head coach may be without a team in 2024.
Bill Belichick is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, the most successful coach in modern NFL history, and for the first time in a quarter century available to be hired. And yet, it seems increasingly likely that he will not be serving as head coach in 2024.
The Atlanta Falcons, the only team he interviewed with after his mutual split from the New England Patriots, have decided to go in another direction at head coach. With Raheem Morris taking the position, and Belichick having been neither linked to the only other remaining vacancies — the Seattle Seahawks’ and Washington Commanders’, the writing appears to be on the wall for the soon-to-be 72-year-old.
Belichick indeed spending the upcoming season without a head coaching gig would be a significant development for the league, and for his ex-club. There are four essential areas the Patriots might be impacted.
No. 1: Steve and Brian Belichick
As was confirmed by new Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo, the team has extended an offer to both of Belichick’s sons to remain with the organization. With the elder Belichick seemingly on his way to not working as a head coach in 2024, they might just take that opportunity and stay put for the upcoming season.
This would be good news for New England because both Steve and Brian Belichick have played integral roles in the team’s defensive success over the last few seasons.
Steve joined his father’s staff as an assistant in 2012, and over the next few years climbed up the organizational ladder. While still only being listed as a position coach, he was effectively running the show on that side of the ball alongside Mayo the last few seasons. The two have developed a productive relationship whose continuation in 2024 would likely benefit the first-time head coach.
Brian, meanwhile, has been with the team since 2016. He was named safeties coach in 2020 and has held that position ever since, helping develop one of the strongest position groups on the roster year in and year out.
While it would remain to be seen what roles the two would fill on Mayo’s staff, their knowledge of the system and proven track records speak for themselves. The Patriots keeping Belichick’s sons in the fold would be a definitive win — one that has become more likely with their father not joining the Falcons.
No. 2: Other Patriots players and coaches
Steve and Brian Belichick are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to potential departures from New England. Players and coaches alike would have been in the spotlight had Belichick become the next head coach of the Falcons, or any other team.
Obviously, that does not mean there won’t be any changes both on staff and when it comes to the roster. However, the Belichick factor as a competing force on another team might no longer factor into the mix.
No. 3: The offensive coordinator search
While the first two points mentioned above are both positives from a Patriots perspective, No. 3 might not be. Raheem Morris being named Falcons head coach instead of Belichick, means that the complexion of New England’s own coaching staff construction might just have changed as well.
Morris, after all, has worked with two of Jerod Mayo’s four reported offensive coordinator targets: Zac Robinson and Nick Caley both were on the same Los Angeles Rams staff as him in 2023. While Morris worked as defensive coordinator, it would not come as a surprise to see him value familiarity and target one or both assistant coaches to join his new staff in Atlanta.
As a consequence, the Patriots might see all four of the OC candidates they interviewed join other teams. Besides Robinson and Caley, they also looked at Dan Pitcher and Shane Waldron who have already agreed to positions with the Cincinnati Bengals and Chicago Bears, respectively.
No. 4: Josh McDaniels
In case the Patriots miss out on all of their reported offensive coordinator targets, Josh McDaniels might be a name to keep an eye on. The former New England OC and quarterbacks coach, who was fired as Las Vegas Raiders head coach in October, would have been a candidate to reunite with Belichick in Atlanta, or wherever he ended up.
Now, however, that outlook appears to have changed. As a consequence, a potential return to New England might be in the cards again.
McDaniels differs from the four offensive coordinator candidates mentioned above: spending virtually all of his coaching career running the Patriots’ modified Erhardt-Perkins scheme, he has no experience in the so-called Shanahan system that Robinson, Caley, Pitcher and Waldron have operated in in the past.
Of course, he did have great success in New England — including during the team’s last playoff season in 2021 — and would bring something to the table the club’s new head coach does not have, at least in his position: experience. McDaniels has plenty of that as an OC, which allowed him to run the Patriots’ offense almost autonomously during his second stint with the franchise. This, in turn, helped free up Bill Belichick to focus on other areas.
There are pros and cons to rehiring Josh McDaniels in whichever capacity. For now, however, let’s focus on one simple fact: Belichick not becoming the Falcons’ head coach means one of the league’s most experienced offensive coordinators will likely remain available for the time being.
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