With all the offseason coaching changes taking place around the NFL, teams are already preparing for next season. Throughout the league, head coaches, coordinators and other various positions are being reshuffled as many organizations eye a fresh start in 2024. One well-known name, however, wasn't able to sign with any team: Bill Belichick.
Dubbed by many as the greatest coach in the history of the sport, Belichick's highly-decorated tenure with the New England Patriots ended recently, as the 71-year-old parted ways with the team after a 24-year run as HC. After winning six titles and appearing in the Super Bowl nine times, many fans are confused as to why Belichick didn't land a new job. Even his former players are up in arms over the situation.
Appearing in a talk show alongside Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman had strong words about NFL teams in general for not giving Belichick a chance.
“It just tells me that not everyone's really about winning in this league,” Edelman said, via The 33rd Team's Ari Meirov. “It's crazy. Yeah he's tough, yeah he's a force to work with but any team that brings him in instantly gets 35% better.”
Julian Edelman on no team hiring Bill Belichick: "It just tells me not everyone is about winning in this league. … Any team that brings him in instantly gets 35% better because of the amount of knowledge he knows."
Full episode with Gronk and Julian on @The33rdTeamFB 👉… pic.twitter.com/GFvF6t22Be
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 5, 2024
Under Belichick, Edelman carved out a winning career
Under Belichick, Edelman won three Super Bowls with the Patriots. The wideout finished his career with the third most playoff receiving yards in NFL history (1,442). While Edelman did acknowledge Belichick's performance in recent seasons, he emphasized how a competitive quarterback is always needed no matter where one coaches.
“…The amount of knowledge he knows, the amount of experience that he has, he's seen everything through the game. And yes, he's had his struggles this last couple of years but this is a quarterback league. You have to find a quarterback regardless of where you are, and he wasn't able to do that.”
With all the head coaching positions filled for 2024, Bill Belichick won't be manning the sidelines for the first time in decades. Still, being a prominent figure in the sport, many expect Belichick to stick around the league one way or another. For now, though, he'll have to wait a while before another coaching opportunity arises.
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