Bill Belichick’s stint in sports media may be a downtime between head coaching jobs.
After parting ways with the Patriots, Belichick is set to work this season on The CW’s “Inside the NFL” and for Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions.
However, NFL Network source Tom Pelissero, who guest hosted “The Rich Eisen Show” earlier this week, believes the 72-year-old Belichick is planning a return to the sideline.
“Bill Belichick intends to coach in 2025,” Pelissero said Wednesday.
“He remains passionate about the game. He’s been on roasts. He’s going to be on Inside the NFL now. I’ve seen him at a lot of different events, including high schools and the Manning Passing Academy. I’ve seen him at the University of Washington. His son, Steve, is the defensive coordinator now.”
Pelissero said Belichick is using his time with the media to prove to the world that he’s not a cranky guy.
“He’s going to try to improve himself more. He’s going to try to remind everybody that he’s not Darth Vader, that there’s more to Bill Belichick than that. He’s done a good job of that through his media work so far. He won a Sports Emmy for ‘NFL 100.'”
After a bit of banter about the Sports Emmys, Pelissero returned to the topic of Belichick.
“He’s totally into it. He wants to coach again,” the reporter said.
“He’s chasing the all-time wins record. That’s really important to Bill Belichick.”
Belichick’s 333 combined regular-season and playoff wins are just 14 shy of Don Shula’s all-time record of 347.
Pelissero said many have linked Belichick to the Cowboys because of his relationship with Jerry Jones, but he doesn’t think it’s “the right fit” whether Mike McCarthy is still coaching the team or not.
“I just can’t imagine Bill Belichick would function in an environment where Jerry is overseeing personnel, holding post-game press conferences and running everything the way Jerry wants it to be,” Pelissero said.
“Jerry broke up with Jimmy Johnson after two straight Super Bowl wins! … How would you take it if Bill Belichick walked up to the podium at AT&T Stadium and said, ‘Yeah, Jerry said he didn’t like the play call on third down and seven yards outside?'”
