It certainly appears a longshot that legendary coach Bill Belichick, who is one of just three coaches with 300 wins and is just 27 wins shy of passing Don Shula for the most in NFL history, will coach again in 2024. Belichick and the New England Patriots agreed to part ways earlier this month after a miserable 4-13 season, and despite coming close in Atlanta, Belichick ultimately has not been hired and has no further interviews. But he was connected to the Dallas Cowboys after the first-round playoff flop that ended with a loss to the Packers.
And speaking at the Senior Bowl this week, team owner Jerry Jones said he did not see any impediments to working with Belichick in the future—a surprising statement given that Jones very much likes to be in control of his team, and Belichick similarly very much likes control. It was control over decisions around the team that ultimately led the Falcons to pass on hiring Belichick, according to reports.
That would not be an issue in Dallas. “I know him personally and I like him,” Jones said, per Yahoo Sports. “There’s no doubt in my mind we could work together. None. None.”
Cowboys Bill Belichick 2025 Rumors Already Rolling
Jones did not want to specifically get into whether he spoke to Belichick about the Cowboys job after the loss to Green Bay. Jones waited three days before it was finally confirmed that the team’s current coach, Mike McCarthy, would return for his fifth season with the Cowboys.
McCarthy, it is worth noting, is in the final year of his contract in Dallas. Should the team stumble out of the gates next year, he would have to keep looking over his shoulder, wondering about his job security. That speculation as already begun thanks to our good friends across Twitter/X.
As former NFL player Bucky Brooks said last week, “Bill Belichick, just sit tight, there may be a job opening in 2025 with America’s Team. … Study that Cowboys roster and get ready.”
"Study the Cowboys roster and get ready."@BuckyBrooks sees Bill Belichick coaching in Dallas in 2025 👀 pic.twitter.com/et2fj0aGzG
— NFL Total Access (@NFLTotalAccess) January 25, 2024
#Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones on Bill Belichick:
"There's no doubt in my mind we could work together. None.”
👀
(h/t @YahooSports) pic.twitter.com/6pMvjJf3QD
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 31, 2024
🚨 NFL News Alert
Former Patriots HC Bill Belichick is expected to take a TV job this season and look at coach openings next season.
The Giants and Cowboys could be teams to watch for him next season if those teams struggle. pic.twitter.com/aHRxygChqq
— NFL Rumors (@nflrums) January 28, 2024
McCarthy is 1-3 in the playoffs as Cowboys coach. When it was announced that he would return as the team’s coach, he raised some eyebrows by saying the team had a championship program in place.
“My message would be this: We have established a championship program. It’s just not the world championship yet,” McCarthy said. “We know how to win, we know how to train to win. We have the right people. But we have not crossed the threshold of winning playoff games. And it’s extremely disappointing to be sitting here talking about it. But I know how to win. We will get over threshold. I have total confidence in that, and that’s why I’m standing here today.”
Jones Not Commenting on Coach’s Future
As for Belichick’s future, Jones offered only a verbal shrug of the shoulders. He insisted he did not speak with Belichick at all before deciding to keep McCarthy. A report from Pro Football Talk suggested earlier this month that Belichick had rejected entreaties from both the Eagles and Cowboys because he did not want to deal with intense media scrutiny.
“I don’t want to get into, for reasons of talking about anybody that I may have talked to that’s been bantered around about coaching,” Jones said Tuesday. “But I didn’t talk to anybody. I haven’t talked to anybody that is a head-coaching candidate other than my own.”
As for Belichick’s return to coaching, Jones passed on offering knowledge or opinions.
“I don’t know,” Jones said. “I don’t know, I wouldn’t speculate.”