We're on to 2025.
In one of the most surprising developments of the offseason, Bill Belichick finds himself without a job after he and the New England Patriots parted ways earlier this month. The only team Belichick interviewed with, the Atlanta Falcons, hired Raheem Morris as their head coach instead of the six-time Super Bowl champion, and reports indicate that Belichick isn't in the running for the two remaining head coach vacancies in Washington and Seattle.
NFL Media's Ian Rapoport speculated Sunday that Belichick could take a year off from coaching and work as a TV analyst in 2024, a scenario that our Tom E. Curran suggested after the Patriots' season-ending loss to the New York Jets on Jan. 7.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
It's hard to imagine Belichick has coached his last game, however, and he's just 15 wins away from surpassing Don Shula for the most wins of any head coach in NFL history. So, which teams could be in the market for Belichick in 2025?
While it's obviously too early to tell which coaching jobs will be open next offseason, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio offered a list of seven "teams to watch" for Belichick next year. Here's a brief breakdown of each:
MORE PATRIOTS COVERAGE
Buffalo Bills
Sean McDermott's job appears safe for one more year, but if the Bills suffer another early playoff exit, that could be the last straw. Buffalo is built to win now and would give Belichick an excellent chance to break Shula's record -- in addition to exacting revenge on the Patriots while playing them twice per season in the AFC East.
Cleveland Browns
This would be a full-circle development for Belichick, whose first NFL head coach job was in Cleveland from 1991-1995. He'd likely be enticed by the Browns' excellent defense and an owner in Jimmy Haslam who "has a demonstrated capacity to do desperate, impulsive things," noted Florio.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Belichick reportedly wants a break from the "big-market media," and Jacksonville certainly would fit the bill in that regard. The Jaguars barely missed the playoffs this season and perhaps could benefit from Belichick's wealth of experience.
New York Giants
As Florio wrote, it's "been long believed" that Belichick "would love to go back to the place where he won a pair of Super Bowls as defensive coordinator" in 1986 and 1990. If the Giants part with ex-Belichick assistant Brian Daboll after another losing season, expect the Belichick-to-New York speculation to escalate quickly.
Philadelphia Eagles
Some speculated that Belichick would make sense in Philly before the team decided to stick with head coach Nick Sirianni after losing in the NFC Wild Card Round. If the Eagles don't win a playoff game in 2024 and move on from Sirianni, Belichick could be drawn to a talented team that's a short flight to his summer home in Nantucket.
Minnesota Vikings
As Florio explained, team owner Zygi Wilf was a "huge Giants fan" before buying the Vikings, which could play into him giving Belichick a call.
"It’s not crazy to envision Zygi and Mark Wilf becoming smitten with the idea of giving Belichick a chance to take the just-good-enough Vikings to the top of the mountain the franchise has been trying to climb for more than 50 years," Florio wrote.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bucs were viewed as a potential sleeper team for Belichick before Todd Bowles led them to the NFC Divisional Round. And if Belichick wants to stick it to the Falcons for passing him over, there's no better landing spot than Tampa Bay, which faces Atlanta twice each season in the NFC South.