Bill Belichick was not included in our recent list of 10 possible head-coaching candidates for the New York Giants should they move on from Brian Daboll at the end of this season. Could Belichick, though, actually return to the NFL to become head coach of the Giants?
“I think Belichick would do it in a second,” long-time NFL columnist Gary Myers said on Wednesday’s ‘Valentine’s Views’ podcast.
Myers, a former columnist for the Dallas Morning News and New York Daily News, has also authored seven books. His latest is ‘Brady vs. Belichick.’ Myers knows Belichick and Giants co-owner John Mara as well as anyone.
Belichick, of course, won six Super Bowls as head coach of the New England Patriots. Including post-season victories, Belichick (333) is 14 behind Don Shula (347) as the winningest NFL head coach of all time. After failing to get an NFL job when he was let go by New England after the 2023 season, he is now plying his trade to mixed reviews in the college football world at North Carolina.
“I know that’s (the record for victories) important to him, although he’ll never admit that,” Myers said. “I also know it’s important to him to win a Super Bowl without (Tom) Brady. I think it’s something Belichick very much wants to do.”
Belichick, of course, was Giants’ defensive coordinator under Bill Parcells from 1985-1990, a period that saw the Giants win two Super Bowls. Perhaps the greatest mistakes of George Young’s outstanding tenure as Giants’ GM was rejecting Belichick and making Ray Handley head coach in 1991.
“He (Belichick) loves the Giants,” Myers said. “I mean he LOVES the Giants. He gets emotional and melancholy reminiscing about his Giant years. Although that was a long time ago, the Giants have stolen his heart.
“I do know that John Mara has a good relationship with Bill. Whether that means he would hire him, I don’t know.”
There would be obstacles to bringing Belichick to the Giants.
Belichick isn’t available, technically. He is coaching the North Carolina Tar Heels, where things are not going as anyone had hoped. North Carolina is 3-5, 12th in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and there are plenty who wonder if Belichick and the staff he brought in actually understand college football.
Belichick is still in Year 1 of a five-year, $50 million contract. Belichick could buy his way out of his North Carolina contract for $1 million. Of course, the school could also fire him, but that would be costly.
I don’t, honestly, see Belichick’s current job as a real impediment. There are others.
Belichick will turn 74 in April 2026
Belichick turns 74 next April. It is clear he still has the energy and passion to coach, and Myers detailed above some of the reasons he would be motivated to get back on an NFL sideline. Pete Carroll, 74, is showing with the Las Vegas Raiders that he isn’t too old to do the job. Belichick isn’t, either.
The question would be, for how long?
Do you hire him for, say, a three-year window? Maybe you could get more than that, but expecting it would seem foolish.
Myers thinks Giants’ ownership would weigh that heavily.
“I think that Mara and Steve Tisch would have a long discussion about it and they’d say, ‘Well, we’re probably only going to get him for three years. It didn’t end well for him in New England. Is that an indication that he’s kind of lost his touch or the game has passed him by or any excuse you want to make for not hiring him? Is the girlfriend thing and an embarrassment? You know, how would our fans react to that?,’” Myers said.
“But they might also say looking at all the potential candidates, who gives us the best chance to win, which is what it’s all about. And if he only stays three years, but it can get us in a Super Bowl. Is that worth it?”
Myers believes it is.
“That’s what I would say about the Giants,” he said. “It would be worth it if he gets to a Super Bowl.”
Jaxson Dart’s development
Belichick had Brady. When Brady left the Patriots, though, Belichick’s work with quarterbacks did not look great. New England drafted Mac Jones in Round 1 of the 2021 NFL Draft. Belichick made a mess out of Jones’ development after Josh McDaniels left following Jones’ rookie season, partially because he had the brainstorm to give offensive control to ex-Giants coach Joe Judge, whose specialty is special teams, and Matt Patricia, a career defensive coordinator.
Belichick would need to show the ability and desire to bring in a top tier offensive coordinator and offensive staff to work with the Giants’ quarterback. Doing everything possible to screw him up, like Mara has admitted the Giants did with Daniel Jones, is not an option.
“Maybe Belichick likes (Mike) Kafka. Kafka has interviewed for a bunch of head-coaching jobs, but if he doesn’t get one you keep Kafka as the coordinator and then you have the continuity you’re looking for,” Myers said.
How much control would Belichick want?
This is the big question, especially for someone likely to only be in it for a short run as head coach. Belichick was THE decision maker in New England. Everything ran through him, as he was considered the de facto general manager. He also had that dual role in his first head-coaching job with the Cleveland Browns.
Any NFL team that hires him has to determine if a) they are willing to blow up their entire organizational structure for a short-term fix, or b) if Belichick would truly be willing to cede personnel authority to a general manager.
Option B would seem to be the better scenario. It was not Belichick’s coaching that led to his struggles over his final few seasons in New England. It was his difficulty drafting quality players and bringing in the right free agents.
Would he be willing to just coach and allow Joe Schoen, or whoever the Giants installed as general manager if they choose to move on, run the front office and have final say on the draft and other personnel decisions?
“They have to make the determination, can he co-exist with Schoen if they want to keep Schoen,” Myers said. “If not, are they going to give Belichick the personnel power? I think that was his undoing in New England.
“If he agrees to work with Schoen, and I think (Bill) Parcells would give Schoen a good recommendation to Belichick because they worked together in Miami I would do it (hire him) because I think he’s more of a sure thing despite what’s happened the last two or three years.”
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