RATHER THAN FADE AWAY, BILL BELICHICK SHOULD TRY TV — BRADY OR ROMO?
The Falcons joined other teams in rejecting the winner of six NFL titles, suggesting a man who won’t sit still to help his old quarterback, Tom Brady, or struggling Tony Romo in their broadcast jobs
The total of 347 victories is safe. On a day when Don Shula’s progeny celebrated his ongoing place as the NFL’s winningest all-time coach, Bill Belichick needs human guidance. If he cannot land another head coaching job at 71, it won’t happen at 72 or 75. Someone might hire him as a faux consultant, which only would lead to personal mischief as he helplessly remains 14 wins away after five years since his last Super Bowl championship in New England.
No, I will try again in pointing him to a feasible resting place in 2024. Why coach the Atlanta Falcons when Raheem Morris will struggle to make the postseason, as Belichick would have done with eyebags and more weight? A glut of six titles in 17 years, the most in league history, is more than enough. The game has changed for diversity’s goodwill, hiring younger coordinators and seeking diversity — six Black head coaches now, with one biracial and another the first Muslim American — with no problem discarding a coach holding the greatest accomplishments ever.
Jim Harbaugh, with collegiate wrongdoing, was hired by the Chargers. Antonio Pierce might work, or might not in Las Vegas. Jerod Mayo wlll be given seasons of leeway by Patriots owner Bob Kraft. Dave Canales — who? — gets a gig in Carolina. Looks like Ben Johnson goes to Washington, from the Lions, with Dan Quinn headed to Seattle. The Cowboys had a shot and kept Mike McCarthy. The Eagles had a shot and kept Nick Sirianni. All over the Hoodie, who was seen as a short-term hire and something of an unknown commodity, based on recent ugliness.
So rather than fade off, knowing the Commanders and Seahawks have shown no interest, Belichick should seek a setting he often seems to loathe. Is he prepared to try television? The people closest to him always have said he has a wit, apart from the “We’re on to Cincinnati” nonsense at trust-no-one press conferences. My dream involves Fox Sports realizing Tom Brady has nothing in common with the lead play-by-play voice, Kevin Burkhardt, and would spend millions adding Belichick as a third man. Who wouldn’t want to hear the vintage quarterback and coach, both G.O.A.T.S., argue in the fourth quarter the way they quarreled and ended their dynasty?
And if not Fox, why not CBS? Tony Romo continues to wither as an analyst who should hand back the rest of his $180 million. The list of mishaps grows every week, with Jim Nantz trying to save his booth from a catastrophe as the network prepares a Super Bowl broadcast in two weeks. Once known for an ability to spot plays before they happen, Romo is so lost in space that he misplaces sequences and adds little to the production. Has he burned out? Did he enjoy too much success too soon, turning sour as he frequently did as quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys?
None of his bosses want to hear such gut-swirl at his absurdist pay rate. On Fox, Burkhardt has helped make a star of Greg Olsen as they wait for Brady next season. On NBC, Mike Tirico is happy enough to help Cris Collinsworth perform. On ESPN, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are ready for the network’s first Super Bowl. The Nantz-Romo pairing has crashed, frighteningly, at the worst possible time. Might CBS take a look elsewhere to add substance with Romo?
To Belichick? Maybe he’d laugh it off. Or, maybe he’d listen. He has nowhere to go in a coaching profession he has served since 1975. Can he disappear so easily? Will he realize he needs a break, as so many successful coaches have sought through time, including Bill Parcells and Pat Riley and others of a similar ilk?
The problems he had in maintaining Brady, followed by wicked losses that ended his career, left a taste of old-man fatigue in the Belichick jug. Arthur Blank itched to hire him in Atlanta, then heard others on his daily staff not wanting new politics and settling on Morris. The largest voice was general manager Terry Fontenot. It helped last week when Morris’ bosses with the Los Angeles Rams praised him publicly, setting him up for a job after he failed as a Tampa Bay head coach from 2009-11.
“No. 1, I think we all know, a great human being,” general manager Les Snead said. “The guy is coded to respect everyone, to build a relationship with everyone no matter where you’re at in the organization. What’s awesome is, as he does that, you just see the respect flow back in his direction. He’s coded for that. It’s a superpower that I think would help any organization.”
Said coach Sean McVay: “When we were able to get him on board, there was an immediate excitement from everybody that he touched in this building, whether it be players, coaches (or) staff. And he’s got that magnetism about him where he is just saying something’s different about this guy and he’s really special.”
Magnetism is not a word used about Belichick. Never mind Morris’ 17-31 record with the Buccaneers and Belichick’s six-pack of titles. The Falcons wanted a coach that management could control, with Blank adjusting direction toward overviewing Morris and Fontenot while CEO Rich McKay fades from day-to-day leadership. In the structure, Fontenot would have authority over Belichick. Too bad the power couldn’t have been negotiated, but in his 70s, the codger isn’t changing. “In no way, shape or form would (Fontenot’s) role be diminished,” McKay said days ago. “His role has been to run the personnel department, and I think the record speaks for itself.”
“He has done an excellent job as our general manager,” Blank said.
That left Morris to say, “I am incredibly appreciative of Arthur Blank for his leadership and for this entire organization putting its trust in me.”
And Fontenot to say, “Raheem is the right fit for our team, culture, and shared vision for success in Atlanta, and I cannot wait to start working with him and have his energy in our building.”
Bill, with respect for the Vince Lombardis, you’ve been aced out.
What’s left, then? He can’t own a team. He can’t manage a team. He can’t coach a team. At this point, he isn’t in position to help 100 million viewers feel better on Super Bowl Sunday. But starting next year, Bill Belichick can help Brady or kick Romo’s ass. I’d rather see that than a legend missing in action.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.