Kyle Shanahan says Bill Belichick turned down an offer to join the 49ers staff

Updated Jul. 24, 2024 7:18 p.m. ET

Associated Press

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan is widely viewed as one of the top offensive minds in football.

He tried to add perhaps the greatest defensive coach of all time to the 49ers staff this offseason.

Shanahan told “ The TK Show Podcast ” hosted by Athletic columnist Tim Kawakami that he offered former New England coach Bill Belichick a job on his staff after the six-time Super Bowl champion parted ways with the Patriots this offseason.

“I did. I threw it out to him,” Shanahan said. “He loves football so much that you never know what he ... I can’t believe that he’s not a head coach of a team right now. I know what I would do if I was an owner, so that shocks me, and the last thing you want to do is insult someone like Bill Belichick. But I know he just loves ball in the simplest form, so I threw it all out to him, whatever he wanted to do like whatever he would want to do.”

After leaving the Patriots, Belichick interviewed with Atlanta for a head coaching job that ultimately went to Raheem Morris. He got no other head coaching interviews and will work as a television analyst this season.

The Niners were looking for a new defensive coordinator this offseason after firing Steve Wilks. Shanahan said he offered the spot to Belichick before ultimately promoting Nick Sorensen into the role.

“I was like, ‘Would you be interested?’" Shanahan said he asked Belichick. "And he was very nice and appreciative, but he politely turned me down.”

The 72-year-old Belichick 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.

One of Belichick's championships came at Shanahan's expense. The Patriots rallied from a 28-3 deficit in the Super Bowl following the 2016 season to beat an Atlanta team with Shanahan as offensive coordinator 34-28 in overtime.

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