Al Michaels addresses Bill Belichick possibly going into broadcasting

Legendary play-by-play announcer Al Michaels believes Bill Belichick could excel as a broadcaster assuming the former New England Patriots head coach would ever welcome a career change. 

"He was outstanding in his role on the (NFL Network "NFL 100 All-Time Team") series," Michaels said about Belichick during a chat with Richard Deitsch of The Athletic. "Shows like that would be his sweet spot if he makes the jump to television. He’s extremely thoughtful and really never says anything simply for effect. Bill would bring light to a discussion, not heat." 

Deitsch first hinted this past fall that CBS, NBC, Fox and Amazon could pursue Belichick as soon as this winter if the 71-year-old became available and showed any interest in accepting a job as either an NFL studio or in-game analyst. More recently, Patriots insider Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston suggested Belichick could take a year off from coaching to serve as an analyst for one of the league's media partners. 

While Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft confirmed on Thursday they mutually agreed to part ways, Belichick is expected to accept a different head-coaching job largely because he's only 15 wins away from breaking the NFL record for career victories accumulated by a head coach (regular season and postseason combined.)

"I don’t see him in a conventional analyst role on game telecasts," Michaels said about Belichick. "He’d be expected to create some artificial energy, and that’s not him. His value would be in a role where the discussions would be relevant and meaningful and devoid of so-called 'hot takes.'" 

Michaels added he's convinced "there’s definitely a 'right' role" for Belichick somewhere in the television world. 

Unless former Patriots quarterback Tom Brady unexpectedly experiences a change of heart regarding his plans for next season, no top-tier national in-game analyst job will be available to somebody such as Belichick before 2025 at the earliest. With that said, Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported last week CBS could soon have multiple openings for its "The NFL Today" program. Michaels indicated via his comments Belichick could be perfect for such a show, but it's widely thought the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach will remain on the sidelines until he possesses the career wins record currently held by Don Shula.