Tom Brady Spoke With Bill Belichick About Interest In Raiders HC Vacancy

According to Tom Pelissero, Raiders minority owner Tom Brady recently spoke with North Carolina HC Bill Belichick to gauge his interest in a return to the NFL. 

Pelissero says at least one other NFL team has actually inquired with Belichick to see if he’s interested in returning to the league.

He adds Brady believes the situation in Las Vegas requires a coach of Belichick’s expertise and stature to establish a sustainable winning program.

The future of Hall of Fame coach surprised a lot of people by opting out of the NFL coaching cycle and taking a job in college football with the Tar Heels. 

His contract contains a $10 million buyout if he leaves prior to June 1, 2025, which is about half or less of his annual salary when he was with New England. 

All accounts are that Belichick had legitimate interest in the North Carolina job, as he’s been on the recruiting trail at local high schools this week, but the contract speaks for itself and there appear to be teams at least testing the waters.  

As for the Raiders, Josina Anderson reported yesterday there are two candidates in particular who have piqued Davis’ interest behind the scenes. Anderson says the availability and interest of those two was a factor in the delay in firing HC Antonio Pierce, who gave his season-ending press conference on Monday. 

Coaches like former Titans HC Mike Vrabel, Vikings DC Brian Flores, Lions OC Ben Johnson and even former Seahawks HC Pete Carroll have all been linked to Las Vegas. But Belichick is unique even among that list. 

Belichick, 72, 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 won six Super Bowls in 24 years in New England before being let go at the end of the 2023 season. 

For his career, Belichick has a record of 302-163 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. 

We’ll have more on the Raiders’ HC vacancy and Belichick as the news is available.