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This past offseason New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick could only get an interview with the Atlanta Falcons after his departure from his home for the past 24 years.
But a recent report from ESPN suggests that Belichick won’t be out of the coaching interview pool for long if he can help it. He apparently has his eyes set on three teams that he really wants to coach – all of which are in the NFC East.
ESPN has reported that his shortlist includes the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles.
So what is Belichick’s likelihood of actually getting the head coaching job of one of the teams on his list?
Today we’re ranking those three teams by the likelihood that he could get the job and explaining why:
3. Philadelphia Eagles
Despite leading the Eagles to the playoffs in each of his three seasons, Nick Sirianni has still underachieved in the eyes of many and there were rumblings that he’s on the hot seat in Philadelphia even after going 11-6 and started the year with the league’s best record.
But the Eagles have been meticulously run by general manager Howie Roseman for many years now and if Belichick were to be even considered as Sirianni’s replacement, there could be an immediate clash over the level of roster and staff control that he would have in Philly.
That said, the Eagles would certainly be the most appealing option to Belichick since they seem far more ready-made to win than the other teams on his shortlist.
2. Dallas Cowboys
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Of the three teams on this list, there’s a strong case to be made that it’s the most likely to have an opening at the end of the year – or even midseason. Despite being a seemingly ready-made Super Bowl team filled with stars at every phase, head coach Mike McCarthy has hit a wall in the playoffs, going just 1-3 in the postseason with the team.
Whether it’s midseason or after the season, Belichick could be the kind of coaching mind that could finally put the Cowboys team over the top and into the Super Bowl.
But much like the Eagles, Belichick could wind up running into the exact same issue: Roster and staff control.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is notorious for having final say over any and all staff and roster choices made on his team. Lest we forget, he ousted two-time Super Bowl champion Jimmy Johnson right after winning him a second ring due in large part to Johnson’s desire to take some of that control from Jones.
1. New York Giants
Giants head coach Brian Daboll – who is actually one of Belichick’s former assistants – started off strong but started to show serious wrinkles in his game in his second season when injuries started to mount. He could be on borrowed time despite making the playoffs just one year ago.
The New York Giants are pretty much an ideal fit for Bill Belichick as it’s one where he already has strong ties to as their former defensive coordinator for two of their four Super Bowl wins.
As for the issue of “control” that shouldn’t be much of an issue as the Giants might just as easily dump general manager Joe Schoen as have him work alongside Belichick in the event that Daboll gets the boot.
In the event that the Giants decide to rebuild with Belichick at the helm, they’d also give him his choice of quarterback probably.