‘Never been a fan of it’ – Bill Belichick calls for NFL to enforce major rule change for Super Bowl and playoffs
Bill Belichick knows a thing or two about coaching.
The New England Patriots legend won eight Super Bowls (six as a head coach with the Pats, two as an assistant with the New York Giants), and has secured the second-most wins in NFL history (333).
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The 72-year-old hasn't coached in the league since 2023, but was rumored to make a return before eventually agreeing to become the head coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Nevertheless, that hasn't stopped him from talking about a controversial NFL topic -- hiring coaches.
In recent years, it's become the norm for coordinators to take meetings for vacant positions before their teams' seasons have ended.
Usually, coordinators of teams that have clinched a first-round bye will speak virtually with prospective teams during the extra week off.
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The overlap between the coaching carousel and the postseason creates obvious concerns regarding the distraction it creates for coordinators, as well as their head coaches and players, and Belichick fundamentally disagrees with it as a practice.
“I’ve never been a big fan of it," he said on the .
"I think it’s really unfortunate when you have a team, including the coaches and the coordinators, worked so hard all year to get to the playoffs, to have an opportunity to play in conference championships and Super Bowls, and then they’re totally distracted by another team, who was a bad team, who has a coaching change, infringing on that team that’s trying to get to a championship by hiring one of their top coaches.
"Nobody would be happy if that was a player. But for a coach, that’s also very disruptive, especially when you’re the play caller. I mean, it’s just human nature to be distracted by a potential job opening, staff and change of lifestyle from a coordinator to a head coach when you’re trying to prepare and call plays in a critical game.”
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“When I took the head job at Cleveland, I didn’t interview for the head coaching position, at Cleveland or Tampa, until we finished playing, until the Super Bowl was over after we had beaten Buffalo [in Super Bowl XXV],” Belichick went on.
“You’re gonna get started at the same time anyway as a coach. It’s not that, but the distraction that it leads into, I think I was very fortunate and glad that I didn’t have to deal with that. So I don’t like it, but it’s not my rule. It’s not my choice. So I think it’s unfair to the teams that have performed and worked so hard to get to that position to have another team that’s obviously not a good team, that has created their own negative situation by having to hire a new coach because of their performance, generally is able to disrupt the team that’s trying to win a championship.”
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Fans caught wind of Belichick's comments and largely agreed.
"He is NOT wrong at all," posted one fan.
"Teams can really afford to wait a couple of weeks," argued another.
"Bill Belichick is right. When assistance coaches are distracted with job offers and interviews, it hurts the players and the team," added a third.
"The fact that nobody can come to terms with this being an issue, is problematic," a fourth commented.
One only has to look at the Detroit Lions for evidence Belichick is not far wrong.
The Lions were one of the best teams throughout the regular season this year, locking up the NFC's No. 1 seed with a 15-2 record to set up a divisional round clash with the Washington Commanders.
However, during their bye week, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glen conducting several virtual interviews with teams.
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Unfortunately for the Lions, they went on to be eliminated from the playoffs, losing 45-31 to the Commanders in a stunning upset.
Their defense was no match for Jayden Daniels, and their offense, one of the best in the NFL this season, turned the ball over five times.
While it's unfair to pin the Lions' defeat on Johnson and Glen's situations, it's not far-fetched to suggest they might have been distracted in the build-up to the game by the constant noise around their jobs.
As Belichick says, "it's human nature."
And Johnson wasted no time in making his next move after bowing out of the postseason with the Lions.
Two days after the Commanders defeat, Johnson was announced as the new head coach of the Chicago Bears.
It certainly appears Belichick is on to something.
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Perhaps the best solution would be for the league to prevent all interviews until after the Super Bowl.
Although it likely wouldn't prevent teams from talking to players' agents, it would at least allow said coordinators and coaches to focus on the task at hand without stressing about their futures.
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