NFL teams must answer for Bill Belichick snub as legend heads to college ranks

Last season, eight NFL head coaches were fired — including Belichick in New England — but only one franchise (Falcons) interviewed the six-time Super Bowl winner.

They spurned Belichick for Raheem Morris, who has a career record of 27-45, including 6-7 this year. 

The Panthers, Raiders and Titans hired Dave Canales, Antonio Pierce and Brian Callahan to their first head-coaching gigs. Their combined record is 8-31.

Hirings in Los Angeles, Seattle and Washington have been more successful, so they're excused.

As for the Patriots, are we sure Belichick couldn't do better than Jerod Mayo's 3-10 record?

Teams with 2025 openings will be pressured to get their upcoming hires right.

Three teams (Bears, Jets, Saints) have already fired their coach this season. While New York was never a realistic option, Chicago and New Orleans should be heavily criticized for not entertaining a potential Belichick hiring if their next coaches flop.

That's not to mention directionless franchises like the Giants (2-11) and Jaguars (3-10), who would have nothing to lose by handing the keys to Belichick.

Jacksonville might be the biggest loser of all the teams not to pursue Belichick should owner Shad Khan fire Doug Pederson.

On Wednesday, ESPN's Dan Graziano wrote, "The people to whom I'm talking to believe Jacksonville is likely to come open."

The Jaguars have $275 million tied into quarterback Trevor Lawrence, putting them in no position to gamble on an inexperienced coach.

General manager Trent Baalke is in his fourth season with little to show for it — the Jaguars are 24-40 since 2021, the league's fifth-worst record during that span.

Graziano also speculated that Baalke could be a casualty of Jacksonville's awful 2024 season, which would give the franchise openings at about general manager and head coach.

In his 28 seasons as an NFL head coach, Belichick also acted as de facto general manager, first with the Browns (1992-95) and then the Patriots (2000-2023).

Belichick is one of the league's winningest coaches, only 15 shy of setting the record, surpassing Hall of Famer Don Shula, who has 347.

It's a shame he likely won't get the opportunity to pass Shula because of several NFL franchises' ineptitude.

Hiring one of the most successful coaches in league history should be a no-brainer. It makes us wonder what's going on in NFL front offices that they're the only ones who don't seem to notice.