Bill Belichick seems to be enjoying his year off from the NFL, conducting weekly rounds in the media to push his many agendas. Weโve learned about his admiration for Jerry Jones, disdain for the New York Jets, saltiness towards the Patriots, and newfound distaste for the Falcons, who passed on him in this most recent hiring cycle.
Now three weeks into the season, weโre officially on Belichick Watch for 2025. Heโs being linked to the floundering Dallas Cowboys by ESPNโs Stephen A. Smith. Heโs rumored to be interested in the Philadelphia Eagles, whose head coach, Nick Sirianni, is constantly under fire.
But what about the team whose head coach is on the hottest seat entering Week 4 of the NFL season: The Jacksonville Jaguars and Doug Pederson?
Jacksonville has talent all over its roster, but suddenly canโt win a game. The Jaguars (0-3) look like one of the worst teams in the NFL entering this Sunday’s road game against the Houston Texans. Unless this situation miraculously improves, Pederson will be out and Jacksonville will be starting over at head coach for the third time in five years.
Is Belichick the right fit for the Jacksonville Jaguars?
In 2022, Jacksonville targeted a Super Bowl winning head coach who had stepped away from the NFL for one full season in Pederson. Could they take another swing by bringing in Belichick?
SI.com’s Albert Breer pegged Jacksonville as a โsneakyโ destination for Belichick in a recent appearance on the Dan Patrick Show:
That’s just a sneaky one with Belichick for me. Tony Khan [the son of Jags’ owner Shahid Khan] has a really strong relationship with Belichick. To the point that, when they hired Doug Marrone full-time and removed the interim tag in 2017, that was largely on the advice of Belichick to do it. So Bill’s had the ear of ownership in that place for a while now. And I just wonder if that’s not rattling around in the heads of ownership there, especially when you’re renovating your stadium. You’ve got sponsorships to sell, you’ve got suites to sell, all of that stuff. Do you need some more credibility? There’s some things that line up there where I wouldn’t totally rule that out as a viable possibility for Belichick in 2025.
Belichick will turn 73 in April of 2025. Teams with more championship-ready rosters, like the Falcons, Cowboys and Eagles, make the most sense at this stage of his career. This Jaguars situation feels more like a project. The teamโs young defense would certainly be in good hands with Belichick, but what about Trevor Lawrence?
The Patriots ruined Mac Jones after a Pro Bowl rookie season under Belichickโs watch. Maybe Josh McDaniels could team up with Belichick in Jacksonville, attach himself to Lawrence, and help the former No. 1 overall pick return to peak 2022 form. But the McDaniels offense has crashed and burned everywhere outside of Foxboro.
Belichickโs agenda is simple: He wants to break Don Shulaโs all-time wins record while chasing his first Super Bowl championship as a head coach without Tom Brady.
In other words, he wants to win now, which makes Jacksonville an imperfect fit.
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