NFL Rumors: Why Eagles Owner Decided To Pass On Bill Belichick
The Eagles are one of the most forward-thinking organizations in the NFL, and they reportedly weren’t willing to sacrifice their infrastructure for former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
Philadelphia came off a disappointing 11-6 campaign that ended with a wild-card round loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Eagles looked like a shell of their Super Bowl form from the season prior, but Nick Sirianni’s job wasn’t in any serious danger.
However, ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. revealed Wednesday in a revelatory column that owner Jeffrey Lurie did some poking around on the 72-year-old. The ESPN report disproved the notion Eagles leadership weren’t fans of Belichick, and the column revealed the future Pro Football Hall of Fame head coach would have been interested in the job if given an opportunity.
General manager Howie Roseman told ESPN he had a “check-in” with Belichick after the latter parted ways with the Patriots, but a source close to the former Patriots head coach confirmed there was no talk of working for Philly.
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The fit made sense, but the Eagles apparently weren’t going to pin everything on Belichick just for short-term gain.
“There’s also a belief that Belichick will coach only until he gets 15 more wins, enough to pass Don Shula as the winningest coach in NFL history,” Van Natta wrote. “Though not seriously considering a move, Lurie wondered to a confidant: Was it worth overhauling the building, changing personnel and philosophies on everything from training staff to salary cap structure, for someone who might coach only two years?
“‘You’ll have to start over again,’ said a source with firsthand knowledge of the Eagles’ thinking. ‘Who would replace him? He hasn’t had a good record of developing coaches. They were afraid that he’ll have changed everything and every person, and (then) you’ll be starting from scratch again. He didn’t demand those changes, but they felt like, if we hire him, we have to give everything to him and trust how he does it.'”
Belichick reportedly wanted to bring on former assistants like Matt Patricia and Josh McDaniels, whom he reportedly had low opinions on as head coaches, if he was hired by the Atlanta Falcons. Philadelphia had Patricia on its staff last season as a senior defensive assistant, but his run as de facto defensive coordinator did not end well.
The Eagles, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants reportedly are on Belichick’s wish list for next season, so there could be renewed interest if Philadelphia has another disappointing campaign.