Former DB criticizes Bill Belichick 'slander' as NFL jobs begin to fill

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Former Super Bowl-winning DB criticizes Bill Belichick 'slander' as NFL jobs begin to fill

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated 1/25/24

With the Los Angeles Chargers, Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons recently filling vacant head coaching positions, options for former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick are dwindling. This has led many to wonder about his perception around the NFL.

Some believe that the game may have passed Belichick by, and that's why he's received little to no interest from teams in the market for a head coach. However, former defensive back and Super Bowl XLVI champion Will Blackmon emerged to remind everyone who the legendary coach is.

"Y'all gotta relax with the Belichick slander. Saying he can't evolve?" Blackmon posted on X. "Bro cooked in four different decades. The man has eight rings for crying out loud."

Man lol
Y’all gotta relax with the Belichick slander. Saying he can’t evolve??

Bro cooked in 4 different Decades. The man has 8 rings for crying out loud.

Nothing wrong with chatting with teams to see what’s up. We don’t even know what they were even talking about
— Will Blackmon (@WillBlackmon) January 25, 2024

Blackmon isn't wrong because Belichick's resume speaks for itself. However, long ago, former head coach Jerry Glanville summed up the NFL best, famously remarking that the acronym meant "Not for long." The league is genuinely a what have you done for me lately type of business, and what he's done lately -- or since losing Tom Brady -- hasn't been that impressive.

While it might be unfair to expect Super Bowls without arguably the best quarterback ever to play the game, what's unfolded over the past few seasons in Foxboro ultimately led to the end of his time with the franchise he'd put on the map. The Patriots looked like a shell of their former greatness in the four post-Brady seasons, recording only one winning record in 2021 (10-7) while going 29-38 in the regular season overall and 0-1 in the postseason.

There's still a possibility Belichick coaches in 2024, with the Washington Commanders and Seattle Seahawks still needing someone to lead them. However the Falcons and Chargers jobs were thought to be the best fit for the future Hall of Famer, so at this point, it's more likely that he won't be on the sidelines come kickoff next season.

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