Have rings, will travel: As coaching jobs fill, 6-time champ Belichick still looking for work

Updated Jan. 25, 2024 6:26 p.m. ET

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Bill Belichick may be the greatest coach in NFL history, but right now he's having trouble finding work.

Belichick had been the front-runner in Atlanta, interviewing twice there after Arthur Smith was fired, before the Falcons went with Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris instead on Thursday. That leaves Belichick still looking for work for the 2024 season with only two known openings left: Washington and Seattle.

Belichick has not interviewed with either team. The six-time Super Bowl champion may have priced himself out of the market either in salary — he reportedly made $25 million last year — or demands for the total control over football operations that he enjoyed in New England.

Belichick, 71, has a career record of 333-178, including the playoffs, leaving him 14 victories short of Don Shula on the NFL’s career list. The former Browns and Patriots coach won a record six Super Bowl championships with Tom Brady at quarterback in New England, and also was the defensive coordinator on two New York Giants championship teams.

But the Patriots have had three losing seasons in four years since Brady left, including a 4-13 record this season that was the worst in Belichick's coaching career. (Brady won a seventh Super Bowl in his first season in Tampa Bay.) The Patriots have gone 29-39 with zero playoff wins since Brady left, leaving Belichick with an 83-104 record with other quarterbacks in New England and Cleveland.

Belichick's tutelage of quarterback Mac Jones, a first-round draft pick who showed promise as a rookie but collapsed completely in 2023, belied his reputation as a coaching wizard. Belichick was pushed out the door by owner Robert Kraft after the season, and the Patriots promoted former linebacker Jerod Mayo to replace him.

In all, there have been eight head coaching openings this offseason with the Panthers, Chargers, Titans and Raiders all looking elsewhere in addition to the Patriots and Falcons.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

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