Insider revives rumor linking Bill Belichick with NFC South team

For a piece published on June 2, Bradley Locker of Pro Football Focus mentioned that Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles could be in danger of losing his job if his club endures a disappointing 2025 season. 

Before Bill Belichick officially became the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels this past December, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk suggested that Belichick could be interested in eventually serving as Bowles' replacement. On Thursday, Florio revived the Belichick-Buccaneers rumor.

"Last year, Belichick consigliere (and North Carolina football general manager) Michael Lombardi was spreading a false rumor that Bowles may retire after the season," Florio wrote. "Which sparked speculation that Belichick was eyeballing the Buccaneers. So why would Lombardi be trying to speak a vacancy into existence? Maybe because that’s one of the jobs Belichick would want."

Belichick remains just 15 wins away from breaking Don Shula's NFL record for career victories earned by a head coach (regular season and postseason combined). While recent reports have indicated that Belichick's much-publicized relationship with 24-year-old Jordon Hudson could prevent the living legend from earning an NFL job, Florio noted that the Buccaneers' history shows they could view the 73-year-old as a short-term answer for a franchise that's made five straight playoff appearances. 

"In 2009, they abruptly dumped Jon Gruden for Raheem Morris," Florio added about the Buccaneers. "Three years later, they hired Greg Schiano. They surprisingly fired Lovie Smith in 2016, apparently in order to avoid losing offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter to another team. And some still believe that Tom Brady’s unretirement in 2022 was conditioned on Bruce Arians being nudged into retirement."

The Buccaneers have claimed three straight NFC South division titles under Bowles, but his overall regular-season record of 27-24 with the club is hardly impressive. Additionally, his teams have gone 1-3 in postseason play since January 2023.

This past January, some thought the Buccaneers were desperate to hold onto offensive coordinator Liam Coen because people within the organization viewed Coen as the franchise's head-coach-in-waiting. Coen ultimately left the club to become the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The buyout attached to Belichick's North Carolina contract dropped from $10M to $1M after June 1. Thus, he could easily make a move to the Buccaneers or a different NFL team if he receives calls about openings this coming January.