Bill Belichick has been around the NFL as a coach for the last 48 years, dating back to 1975. Belichick was the head coach for the New England Patriots since 2000, winning six Super Bowl championships.
Things ended up hitting a rough patch for New England and Belichick in 2020 after Tom Brady left town. They finished below .500 in three of the past four seasons. Belichick and New England parted ways after the 2023 season and many believed the 71-year-old coach would be a hot commodity on the open market.
That ended up not being the truth and Belichick wasn’t hired for any of the eight head coach vacancies. Now the three-time AP Coach of the Year will have to wait until 2025 to have a chance to become the lead man of an NFL organization.
Despite being out of the NFL in 2024, Belichick will still be around the game of football. On Feb. 21, The University of Nebraska football program announced they plan on hosting spring football clinics for players and coaches led by their head coach Matt Rhule. There will be some guest speakers attending this clinic and Belichick headlines the group.
The former New England Patriots head coach will be a keynote speaker in April’s “X&O” clinic. People close to Belichick say he’s very fun and engaging when you get him away from football. This is a great opportunity for these young football players and coaches to hear from one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game.
There are some new faces coming to Foxborough. On Monday afternoon, the New England Patriots announced their new additions as Jerod Mayo has rounded out his first coaching staff at the helm of the Patriots.
With the announcement of Mayo’s staff, one theme and stark contrast between the new Patriots head coach and his predecessor was abundantly clear: the number of assistants on staff. Belichick famously kept a close circle of confidants, “partly because he wanted to ensure there were no mixed messages.” Meanwhile, Mayo’s extensive staff stems from his “desire to integrate ideas and perspectives from those who have coached elsewhere.” In his introductory press conference, the former Patriots linebacker-turned-head coach emphasized that he wanted to create an environment that encouraged competing ideas and philosophies among coaches:
“One thing you’ll notice about me, in our interaction as we continue to go, is, I don’t like echo chambers. I want people around me that are going to question my ideas, or question the way we have done things in the past.”
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