Bill Belichick Coaching Rumors Have Begun: Jaguars in 2025?

Bill Belichick is a media man in 2024. It’s the first time since 1974 that Belichick has not been on the coaching staff of an NFL team. The thought here has been, and remains, that Belichick will be an NFL head coach in 2025. He seems to enjoy his role as an NFL analyst on a plethora of platforms. But Belichick would likely enjoy breaking Don Shula’s all-time wins record even more.

Media positions will always be available to Bill Belichick. His insight into football is going to garner attention this week, or five years down the line. Coaching opportunities might not always exist, however. He is already 72 years old. And though that might seem young for President of the United States it is old by NFL head coaching standards.

Andy Reid of the Kansas City Chiefs is the NFL’s oldest active head coach at 66. The oldest head coach in NFL history is Romeo Crennel. He was the interim head coach for the Houston Texans to finish the 2020 season. He was 73. Belichick famously said, “I won’t be like Marv Levy and coach in my 70s,” back in 2009. The next NFL game Belichick coaches would make him older than Levy when the legendary Bills’ coach retired.

Also Read – Accountability Issue for Bill Belichick? Mike Reiss Thinks So

The idea of Bill Belichick coaching again is nothing new. However “The Ringer” has attached a potential team to Belichick’s next stop as NFL head coach: the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Is Doug Pederson on the Hot Seat in Jacksonville?

Jacksonville sits at 0-2 two weeks into the 2024 season. A 20-17 road loss to the Miami Dolphins to open the season was excusable. But a Week 2 loss at home to the Cleveland Browns by a final score of 18-13 was less easily forgiven.

“We suck right now,” said quarterback Trevor Lawrence after the loss to Cleveland.

"We gotta figure it out." pic.twitter.com/xspO437KJW

— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) September 15, 2024

The road for the Jaguars does not get easier in September. Their next two games are both on the road. They face the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football in Week 3, and the Houston Texans the following Sunday. Buffalo and Houston are both undefeated and defending divisional champions.

Patriots Football Now predicted the Jaguars to finish 12-5 and win the AFC South. PFN’s 2023 NFL Coach of the Year prediction: Jacksonville’s Doug Pederson. If things don’t get turned around quickly for the Jaguars, none of these predictions has any hope of coming true.

This explains why Bill Belichick coaching the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2025 has become both a rumor and a possibility.

“The Ringer” Starts Speculation

“Bill Belichick is going to be coaching the Jaguars next season, and we’ll know it by New Year’s,” said Steven Ruiz. “It won’t be official, but it will be the worst kept secret in the NFL.”

Ruiz went on to explain his reasoning.

“I know some beat reporters in Jacksonville, and there’s already whispers, I’ll start with that,” said Ruiz.

There was talk that Belichick failed to land the Atlanta Falcons head coaching job in the offseason because they did not want to relinquish so much control over how the franchise was run. Ruiz believes that will not be an issue for Jacksonville owner Shad Khan.

“If Belichick comes in and he throws those (Super Bowl) rings on the table, I think that’s enough,” opined Ruiz. “I think Shad Khan needs a proven winner. Someone where he couldn’t be blamed for hiring the coach. Cause if you hire Belichick and it doesn’t work out, it’s like ‘yeah, he’s the greatest coach ever.'”

Why it Makes Sense

If the Jacksonville Jaguars continue to struggle, replacing Doug Pederson as head coach seems inevitable. There are high expectations for the team this season. So, anything short of a playoff spot will likely cost Pederson his job. Shad Khan bought the team in 2012. The Jaguars have only made the NFL Playoffs twice in that time. Jacksonville lost to Belichick’s Patriots in the 2017 AFC Championship Game. They lost to the Chiefs in the 2022 Divisional Round in Pederson’s first season in Jacksonville.

Jacksonville has some solid pieces in place, a hands-off owner, and they play in a relatively easy AFC South (Texans aside). Florida might also be a welcomed destination for Bill Belichick, with the weather and state taxes, after he spent the last quarter century in Massachusetts.

A team projected to finish 12-5 and win their division could have a head coach opening in 2025. Bill Belichick takes that call.

The Jacksonville Jaguars could go on a winning streak and put talk of replacing Doug Pederson to rest. If not, this feels like a viable option for both sides. However, the 2024 NFL season is only in Week 3. Jacksonville has plenty of time to turn things around. There will be more head coaches on hot seats before long, with Belichick’s name linked to nearly all of their jobs. For Bill Belichick, replacing the head coach who defeated him in Super Bowl 52 and breaking Don Shula’s career wins record while coaching in Florida doesn’t sound like a far-fetched final chapter to his illustrious coaching career. Stay tuned.