Yep, $10 million doesn’t mean much to an NFL owner.
We raised the question yesterday as to whether teams will contact North Carolina coach Bill Belichick, despite his eight-figure buyout and his statement from his introductory press conference that “I didn’t come here to leave.”
Today, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that the Raiders and other teams have “inquired” as to whether Belichick would reconsider his jump to college football. Per the report, Raiders minority owner Tom Brady recently spoke with Belichick.
The other teams aren’t known. Whether Belichick would eat his own words also isn’t known.
While Belichick refused to discuss his buyout during a recent episode of the Let’s Go! podcast, he was asked whether the door is open to return to the NFL.
“No, I’m here at North Carolina,” Belichick said. “I want to be at Carolina, and I’m excited about being at Carolina.”
Belichick presumably explored all options in the NFL before hauling ass to Chapel Hill. His consigliere, Mike Lombardi, said this before Belichick took the UNC job (and brought Lombardi with him): “Where are the great jobs?”
Belichick also has taken periodic shots at the NFL model generally, complaining that job interviews are rarely about football and whining about the number of “cooks in the kitchen” when it comes to running a pro football franchise.
Last year, the narrative was that Belichick just wanted to coach, and that he wouldn’t try to take over. The truth seems to be that he wants to call the shots — or that at a minimum he doesn’t want others who don’t know whether they’re doing to be calling the shots.
The Bears are casting a very wide net. They’d presumably be interested in interviewing Belichick, if only to reinforce the idea that they’re turning over every possible stone. The Jets, in contrast, rejected his overture before he took the UNC job.
That leaves the Patriots (um, no), the Saints, and the Jaguars. Given that Lombardi took an apparent shot at Jacksonville chief football strategy officer Tony Khan by saying “there’s sons of owners that run the analytical department,” the Jaguars might not be interested.
Could it work with the Raiders? Belichick has made clear his respect for Al Davis. His son, Mark Davis, could with the influence of Brady give Belichick whatever he wants and needs in order to thrive. And if that means moving on from G.M. Tom Telesco, maybe Davis would do it.
Then there’s the question of why and how it came out. Does Belichick hope to goose the market for his services? Or is he simply hoping to get an ego boost?
While the chatter can impact recruiting, if he stays put he can point to it as proof that he’s committed to UNC. Which will come in handy next year, when his buyout will have dropped to $1 million.
