Why NFL Insider Calls Bill Belichick ‘Most Intriguing’ Figure Of 2024 Season

Bill Belichick won't be on an NFL sideline to start the 2024 season, but his shadow could cast across head coaches on thin ice with their organization.

The New England Patriots felt it was time to move on from Belichick, and the outside perception was that there would be a long line of teams wanting to bring in the 72-year-old. However, only the Atlanta Falcons emerged as serious contenders, and they ended up hiring Raheem Morris after Robert Kraft reportedly played a hand in the process.

After a coaching tour around multiple college programs, Belichick will move to media roles with Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions, "Inside the NFL" and possibly the "Pat McAfee Show." However, the eight-time Super Bowl champion reportedly still has an eye toward coaching in 2025, which ESPN's Dan Graziano highlighted in a column identifying the "most intriguing" figures of the 2024 season.

"People close to Belichick say they believe he still wants to coach -- at least long enough to get the 15 wins he needs to surpass Don Shula atop the all-time wins list -- and that he'll have his eye on potential opportunities as this season goes along," Graziano wrote Friday. "That means that just about every coach who's on the hot seat will probably have to deal with speculation that Belichick is looking over his shoulder and that his bosses might be considering hiring Belichick.

It's entirely possible that, at age 72 and five years removed from his last playoff win, Belichick isn't going to be anyone's top choice as a head-coach candidate in 2025. But that's not going to tamp down the speculation. Belichick will remain one of the league's most intriguing figures until we get to next January and see whether he's still someone teams want to hire."

It's a tough spot to be in for any head coach, but Graziano is correct in that there will be widespread speculation on a weekly basis if a coach on the hot seat suffers a bad loss. So even though Belichick won't be coaching this season, he'll still have a presence in one form or another.