Bill Belichick praises Kyle Shanahan following 49ers' interest

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan generated headlines when he told Tim Kawakami of The Athletic back in July that he had reached out to former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick about possibly doing "whatever he’d want to do" as a member of the 49ers after New England parted ways with Belichick and after Shanahan dismissed defensive coordinator Steve Wilks this past winter.

During a Monday afternoon appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," Belichick somewhat danced around the topic even though Shanahan previously acknowledged the living legend "politely turned me down" early this year.

"I appreciate the question, [but] I'm just going to keep all of those conversations that I had between any other coaches, teams, whatever -- we keep those private," Belichick said, as shared by Will Simonds of NBC Sports Bay Area.

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank passed on making Belichick his new head coach in January, and the 72-year-old later accepted multiple media gigs as part of an alleged "public relations makeover." 

As for Shanahan, he's been part of two Super Bowl defeats and a pair of NFC Championship Game losses during his 49ers tenure, so it makes sense he'd accept assistance from the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach who is widely viewed as the GOAT of his profession.

Belichick may have rejected Shanahan but he left little doubt on Monday that he's fond of the 44-year-old. 

"Kyle is great. ... I have a ton of respect for him, his dad and the way they have coached the game, what they've done for the game," Belichick continued. "I love Kyle and Mike Shanahan. I think they do a tremendous job. I'll just leave our personal relationship aside on that one, but I study them a lot. I've learned a lot from both Kyle and Mike. They're great coaches, and their teams are very competitive."

Belichick reportedly "intends to coach in 2025" and is only 15 wins away from setting an NFL record for career victories earned by a head coach (regular season and postseason combined). As much as he could've offered the 49ers as a coordinator or even as a consultant, he may feel that spending a year unattached to any club could help him land the type of job he wants as soon as this coming January.