Commanders Considering Potential Trade For Bill Belichick Next Year?

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that there’s “chatter in some league circles” that the Commanders could attempt to trade Patriots head coach Bill Belichick next year.

Belichick’s future in New England has been a popular topic this season with the Patriots off to another disappointing start to the season.

It’s unlikely that Patriots owner Robert Kraft would want to fire Belichick, but as Florio mentions, a trade with a team like the Commanders would offer New England a “graceful exit.”

A recent report mentioned that the Patriots signed Belichick to a lucrative, multi-year contract extension this past offseason. 

The Commanders have indicated that a rebuild of some kind could be coming next year after they traded away starting defensive Chase Young and Montez Sweat. Beyond that, there’s question whether HC Ron Rivera and members of the front office will be retained after this season.

As of now, just one team is in the market for a new coach after the Raiders decided to fire Josh McDaniels, so there’s plenty of time for things to change and for more opportunities to become available, but this is something to at least keep an eye on in the coming months.

Belichick, 71, got his start coaching in the NFL in 1975 with the then-Baltimore Colts. He had assistant jobs with the Lions and Broncos before landing with the Giants, where he eventually rose to defensive coordinator under legendary HC Bill Parcells. 

The Browns hired Belichick as head coach in 1991 and he was in the post for five years before being fired. He rejoined Parcells as an assistant with the Patriots and left to go with him to the Jets the following year.

He was slated to replace Parcells as head coach of the Jets in 2000 but infamously resigned and was hired by the Patriots, who had to give up a first-round pick to the Jets as compensation. Belichick has been in New England ever since, winning six Super Bowls in 24 years. 

For his career, Belichick has a record of 300-158 over 29 seasons (.655 W/L percentage) and has eight Super Bowl rings, six of them as head coach of the Patriots. He’s a three-time winner of the AP Coach of the Year award.