Searching for some help on the defensive side of the ball, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan looked to make an offer he hoped Bill Belichick could not refuse.
The former New England Patriots head coach went through interviews with NFL teams who had open vacancies but never landed a new gig. This prompted the 49ers and Shanahan to offer something to Belichick.
“I threw it out to him,” Shanahan said in an interview with Tim Kawakami of The Athletic on The TK Show. “He loves football so much that you never know. I mean, I can’t believe that he’s not a head coach of a team right now. I know what I would do if I was an owner, so that shocks me. And the last thing you want to do is insult someone like Bill Belichick, but I know he just loves ball in the simplest form. So I threw it all out to him. Whatever he’d want to do.
“I was like, ‘Would you be interested (in the defensive co-ordinator job)?’ He was very nice and appreciative, but he politely turned me down.”
After 24 seasons in which the franchise won six Super Bowl titles, Belichick and the Patriots agreed to part ways. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported on the Rich Eisen Show that Belichick wants to coach again in 2025 as he prepares for a broadcast role with “Inside the NFL” for the 2024 season.
Part of the motivation for Belichick to land another coaching gig is to try and pass Don Shula, who owns the NFL’s all-time record for coaching wins with 328 for his illustrious career. Belichick needs 27 more wins to move to the top of the all-time coaching list.
The 49ers eventually promoted defensive pass game specialist and nickel cornerbacks coach Nick Sorensen to replace Steve Wilks as the defensive co-ordinator.