When Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk first mentioned the possibility of legendary New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick leaving for another team in the offseason, most people shook their heads. People were even more skeptical when Florio named the team — the Washington Commanders.
According to Florio, he’d heard league-wide chatter that the Commanders could trade for the 71-year-old Belichick.
It made no sense. Why would the Commanders, under new owner Josh Harris, do something former owner Dan Snyder would have done? While Belichick’s place in NFL history is cemented, would trading for a coach — specifically a defensive-minded coach who is 71 — be a smart move?
After all, the Commanders currently have a defensive-minded coach (Ron Rivera), and the defense is atrocious despite the vast resources spent on that side of the ball.
While Florio’s initial comments on Belichick/Washington quietly went away, they came to the forefront again this week when ESPN analyst — and former NFL quarterback — Dan Orlovsky said he’d heard something similar and that the location had already been determined. When Pat McAfee pressed Orlovsky on it, he wasn’t giving any names.
In an appearance on the “Dan Patrick Show” this week, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated became the latest to connect the Commanders and Belichick. Breer is plugged in, and he also spent several years covering Belichick and the Patriots.
“The Washington stuff has been out there for a while,” Breer said. “It’s something that’s been talked about in NFL circles for more time than the time it’s been out there in the public.”
“If you look at the history of things, Dan, when we’ve seen owners bring in older coaches with a track record, it’s generally a credibility play. Like Shad Khan needed credibility in Jacksonville, so he brought in Tom Coughlin. At the beginning of Stephen Ross’ ownership in Miami, they had Bill Parcells there as the football czar. So it would make sense if you’re trying to restore credibility to your organization and you’re Josh Harris. And Josh Harris, by the way, would be able to negotiate this with the Patriots because he went to Harvard Business School with Jonathan Kraft. And they’ve had a relationship going back over 30 years.”
Does Belichick even still want to coach?
.@AlbertBreer explains why Bill Belichick to #Commanders would make some sense.
Full interview: https://t.co/hNQNZy0QZb pic.twitter.com/pMYa2va5pX
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) November 15, 2023
“I do think Bill still wants to coach,” Breer stated. “Now, that’s just my opinion based on what I’ve heard from people who know him really, really well and who’ve been around him. That Shula record is sitting out there; it’s 16 wins away.”
Who else could be interested in Belichick?
“The two teams you hear most connected to Bill, at least from my perspective, have been Washington and Dallas,” Breer continued.
That would certainly be interesting.
What Washington doesn’t need is a trade for Belichick — for so many reasons. It’s not like he’s bringing Tom Brady in his prime with him. Additionally, Belichick will want complete control. The Commanders have experienced the “coach-centric” model for four years and it hasn’t gone well.
By the way, check out Belichick’s draft record. It’s not pretty.
The right path for Washington is to hire a general manager first. Allow that GM to pick the coach — and the coach should be an innovative offensive guy, not another defensive-minded, old-school coach.
For far too long, Washington has been behind the curve. With an analytics-minded owner, it’s time for the Commanders to be ahead of the curve, as trading for a veteran coach is exactly something Snyder would have done.
