The Philadelphia Eagles had the opportunity to work with possibly the greatest head coach in NFL history Bill Belichick. They chose not to pursue it.
Philadelphia, which has been among the best football teams in recent years, appeared to be headed for another deep postseason run in 2023 before things spiraled out of control. After having a fantastic season to begin with, the Eagles faltered in the latter stages and were eliminated from the playoffs by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Bill Belichick is often seen angry while a match goes on
Rumors circulated that the Eagles may remove Nick Sirianni from his position as head coach.
NFL experts talk about Bill Belichick’s rejection
Though this is the true, ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr., Seth Wickersham, and Jeremy Fowler report that the Eagles finally decided against a trade mostly because they believed he would only be around for perhaps two seasons.
According to Van Natta, Wickersham, and Fowler,
“Despite some owners and executives believing the game had passed Belichick by, the Eagles felt he still had his fastball; he had nearly beaten them in the 2023 season opener with an inferior team,”
“There’s also a belief that Belichick will coach only until he gets 15 more wins, enough to pass Don Shula as the winningest coach in NFL history. Though not seriously considering a move, (Jeffrey Lurie) wondered to a confidant: Was it worth overhauling the building, changing personnel and philosophies on everything from training staff to salary cap structure, for someone who might coach only two years?”
In the end, Philadelphia chose to remain with Sirianni rather than pursue Belichick. However, the renowned head coach is still available, and there are rumors that he would still be interested in the position should it become vacant after the 2024 campaign.
