New report claims Bill Belichick is interested in a different coaching job
Bill Belichick has been the driving force of New England’s NFL dynasty, leading the Patriots to five Super Bowl victories with the help of legendary quarterback Tom Brady.
But with rifts reported between Belichick, Brady and owner Robert Kraft, the coach might want to hit the road to get away from the drama brewing in Foxborough.
According to a New York Daily News report Friday, Belichick has a “desire” to coach the New York Giants.
“I’m sure Bill knows this is his last chance to be the Giants coach,” the Daily News’ Gary Myers quoted a source close to Belichick as saying. “Bill sees an opening — an opening to get to the Giants.”
The source also said the “Giants are the only place he wants to be.”
It’s hard to believe that the 65-year-old Belichick would want to leave the Patriots dynasty so late in his career.
However, his going to the Giants might not be as crazy as it sounds. Belichick has ties to the organization and helped the team win its first two Super Bowls as defensive coordinator under Bill Parcells.
“He wants to be the Giants coach. I know that for a fact,” the source told the Daily News. “That would be pretty cool. My guess is if he wants out, the Giants already know. He would be great with [new general manager Dave] Gettleman. Bill is a football guy. Gettleman is a football guy.”
The rift in the Patriots ranks certainly could help persuade Belichick to leave.
The trouble within the organization came to light in a report fromo ESPN’s Seth Wickersham, who said this could be the “beginning of the end” of the Patriots dynasty with Belichick at the helm.
In the report, Wickersham highlighted Brady’s desire to always get his way as the QB was upset with Belichick’s decision to ban Brady’s personal trainer, Alex Guerrero, from the sideline as well as team facilities.
According to Wickersham, the divide grew deeper in light of the Jimmy Garoppolo trade to the 49ers, which Belichick reportedly strongly opposed, believing the young quarterback was the Patriots’ future.
But Kraft sided with Brady and wanted to appease Brady’s worries of Garoppolo cutting Brady’s career short.
According to the report, “The Patriots repeatedly offered Garoppolo four-year contract extensions, in the $17 million to $18 million range annually that would go higher if and when he succeeded Brady. Garoppolo and [agent Don] Yee [also Brady’s agent] rejected the offers out of hand, for reasons that remain unclear, and the Patriots knew they couldn’t make any promises to Garoppolo about the timing of a transition at quarterback without it getting back to Brady.”
Despite the rift, the Patriots are still the favorite to defend their title as Super Bowl champs.
The Giants, on the other hand, are coming off a tumultuous 3-13 season in which they fired both head coach Ben McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese. They hired Gettleman to replace Reese and have been interviewing coaching candidates.
Turning around the troubled New York team would be the perfect challenge for Belichick to end his career if he was willing to leave Foxborough.
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