Report: Bill Belichick has 1 reason for avoiding certain teams

Nov 10, 2023; Frankfurt, Germany; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick speaks to the media before an NFL International Series practice at the Deutcher Fussball-Bund facility. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Bill Belichick has only interviewed for one NFL head coach job since he parted ways with the New England Patriots. While that may have something to do with a lack of interest, there are reportedly certain teams and situations that Belichick would rather avoid.

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, Belichick does not want his next coaching job to be with a team in a major media market.

“As one source explained it over the weekend, that comes from a desire to avoid the dynamic of reporters aggressively trying to develop #sources at any and all levels of the organization,” Florio wrote on Tuesday. “The fewer the number of reporters covering a team, the less Belichick has to worry about reporters cozying up to people he otherwise needs to trust to zip it.”

There are currently five NFL head coach vacancies, assuming Brian Callahan finalizes a contract with the Tennessee Titans. The remaining five teams in search of a coach are the Falcons, Los Angeles Chargers, Washington Commanders, Carolina Panthers and Seattle Seahawks. If Belichick wants to avoid major media markets, he probably would prefer to stay away from L.A. All of the others should be fair game, but it seems he has only drawn real interest from Atlanta.

Of course, there are other teams like the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. Florio reported last week that there is a belief in NFL circles that both teams expressed interest in Belichick, but the 71-year-old did not reciprocate. If that is true, the media markets in Dallas and Philly may have been a factor for Belichick. The Cowboys are sticking with Mike McCarthy, and the Eagles appear to be committed to Nick Sirianni.

Rex Ryan named another intriguing potential landing spot for Belichick this week, but that may qualify as another big media market.