As it becomes increasingly likely that Bill Belichick will be shut out of this coaching cycle, TV is appearing to be his best landing spot. And Mike Tirico expects him to be great.
When Belichick parted ways with the New England Patriots earlier this month, his intention of continuing to coach was clear. But with the Falcons passing on Belichick, and other coaching vacancies drying up, the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach might need to try again next offseason.
Tirico joined ESPN 1000 Chicago’s afternoon show Waddle and Silvy this week. During the interview, NBC’s lead NFL play-by-play voice was asked about Belichick’s future. And the way Tirico presented it, if teams aren’t clamoring to put Belichick on their sideline, networks should be knocking down the door to get him on their airwaves.
“If he does decide to do TV for a year or whatever, he’ll be really good,” Tirico said before he recalled working with Belichick during Super Bowl XL. “Super Bowl 40 aired on ABC, I was at ESPN, we did the pregame show for the ABC broadcast. Bill was on a set with me for the game, it was the Seattle-Pittsburgh Super Bowl in Detroit and he was terrific on the air. If you watched that NFL Films 100th anniversary team series of shows, he was great. If he winds up not getting a job and does TV for a year or more, he’ll be awesome. He’ll be the guy that everybody shuts up and listens to. I promise you.”
For as bland as Belichick can be during press conferences, the gruff coach is known to be much more willing to engage when discussing topics other than his football team. And considering Belichick is unlikely to have a football team next season, he might be a more engaging personality. Kind of like the engaging personality Tirico remembered him being during Super Bowl XL.
According to Tirico, not only was Belichick’s analysis of the game spot on, but he sought to be good on TV, requesting a rundown of how the show would operate.
“’Just kind of give me the basics of what to do’” Tirico remembered Belichick asking. “’What are the basics here? Do I look at you? Do I look at the camera? How do we play this? How do we use the videos that roll in when we’re talking about it, do we get to pick those?’…He didn’t need to hear anything from me, he was probably just making me feel good.”
Maybe Belichick takes a gap year (an idea also suggested by Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio) and returns to NFL head coaching at the unprecedented age of 73. Or maybe, he tries broadcasting for a year and just enjoys the ability to earn a low-stress paycheck.
[Waddle and Silvy, photo from The Athletic]
