Bill Belichick is out of the coaching circle after ending his legendary run with the New England Patriots.
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed to The Athletic's Tim Kawakami on an episode of The TK Show podcast that he offered Belichick a spot on his staff but was "politely" rebuffed.
"I did, I threw it out to him," Shanahan said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. "He loves football so much that you never know what he ... I can't believe he's not a head coach of a team right now. I know what I would do if I was an owner so that shocks me and the last thing you want to do is insult someone like Bill Belichick. But I know he just loves ball in its simplest form, so I threw it all out to him, whatever he wanted to do, [including defensive coordinator]. I was like 'Would you be interested?' And he was very nice and appreciative and he politely turned me down."
Having the greatest coach of this era on his staff would have been an interesting dynamic for Shanahan. Kudos to him for not fearing the shadow Belichick's presence would cast. Making such an offer displays Shanahan's respect for Belichick and his comfort in his own job.
The Niners parted ways with defensive coordinator Steve Wilks following Super Bowl LVIII, opening the possibility for Belichick to take on that role. The club eventually promoted Nick Sorensen to the gig.
Belichick was linked to several jobs this offseason, and interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons for their head coaching position, but he didn't land one. He's set to work in media as an analyst for Inside the NFL during the upcoming season.
Shanahan believes it will be a one-year sabbatical for the coach with 302 career NFL wins.
"I'm sure he's going to be back in the league next year, and I could be going against him," Shanahan said. "He could be in the NFC West. It would have sucked if he came here, and then he was going against us, so that's the stuff you have to be careful about. But he's the best, and I just like talking to him."
