Sure, it’s hard to picture.
Bill Belichick pacing another sideline in another team’s colors, sneering and snorting at another team’s press conferences after 24 years in New England.
Then again, so was a 2-6 start to this season.
And a sub.-500 record for Belichick over a three-and-a half-year span.
And a Belichick-coached team ever sitting last in the AFC, having committed the second-most penalties in the league with the NFL’s third-worst turnover margin.
Yet, here we are.
The Patriots are a bad football team. Their roster is starved for blue-chip talent and a quarterback of the future. Belichick hand-picked every person in his locker room, front office and coaching ranks. He is responsible for everything.
If the Pats continue charging toward a 4-13 or 5-12 finish, it only reasons the door could swing open for Belichick to leave this January. Few NFL coaches or GMs survive a four-year run with a 45% winning percentage, let alone when that person is one and the same. Robert Kraft cleaning house has crossed the minds of multiple folks working in football operations with more than half a season left.
Whether Kraft turns the knob, Belichick kicks the door down himself or they agree to a mutual parting of ways, it’s believed Belichick will not go gentle into that good night of retirement. Reports have long indicated Belichick is committed to, perhaps even hellbent on, breaking Don Shula’s record for most coaching wins all-time. He’s 17 wins away from leaping Shula.
Perhaps more to the point, Belichick is someone raised in a film room who’s spent 49 of his 71 years on Earth coaching NFL football. Life, as Belichick knows it, needs football as much as water or oxygen.
The question is: could Belichick leave for the Patriots’ next opponent?
The Commanders should offer a cozy landing spot, even if only for the two years Belichick may need to seize his record. Washington is under a new ownership group led by 76ers co-owner and managing partner Josh Harris. That group is flashing all the usual signs of new owner behavior.
First, they make a public effort to ingratiate themselves with fans. Next comes spending unholy gobs of money. Washington is scheduled to have the fourth-most cap space in the league this spring, after off-loading top pass rushers Chase Young and Montez Sweat before Tuesday’s trade deadline.
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Once the offseason hits, it's another safe bet Harris and Co. will advance to step three: hiring their own people. Ron Rivera is seven games below .500 in his three-plus years as Washington's head coach. Third-year general manager Martin Mayhew doesn't have a standout draft class on his resume.
Belichick could fill both jobs with one signature and instantly restore the Commanders to relevancy. No other coach or GM can offer that. Belichick would represent the ultimate big splash, and new owners love nothing, nothing more than stealing headlines and soaking the competition. (See: the new-look Broncos signing Sean Payton.)
What about Belichick's contract?
Since the NFL Network reported that Belichick signed a new deal this spring, insiders from ESPN to Sports Illustrated have thrown water on the idea that it represents an ironclad commitment between coach and team. NBC Sports Boston's Tom Curran reported the only known detail about the contract, saying it runs through 2024. If true, Belichick's future in that sense is no more guaranteed than any other losing head coach's, given NFL teams rarely, if ever, allow coaches to enter a contract year.
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Even if Belichick's deal becomes an obstacle, financially or otherwise, the Patriots could always trade him. Washington just added two valuable draft picks at the deadline. An ownership group that dropped more than $6 billion to buy the team won't let money stand in the way.
As a Maryland native, Belichick would also return home. He could rehire old pal Josh McDaniels to run his offense and bring sons Steve and Brian to fill out his defensive staff. Belichick is well aware of Washington's storied history, having coached against the then Redskins for more than a decade when he was a Giants assistant in the 1980s.
Asked about that history Wednesday, Belichick spent a curious amount of his time discussing ownership.
"George Preston Marshall bought the team, moved it to Washington, had it a long time. Sold it to (Jack Kent) Cooke. Cooke won three Super Bowls with (Joe) Gibbs. (Daniel) Snyder bought it, and they’ve rebranded in the last couple years. It’s one of the older franchises in the league, I don’t know," he said.
Of course, the Commanders are among several teams that could entertain coaching changes this offseason, including one that's already pulled the trigger. They are: the Jets, Raiders, Browns, Chargers, Buccaneers and Bears.
Belichick isn't packing up for New York or Cleveland again. He's not following Brady's shadow in Tampa or Brady to Las Vegas, where his former top lieutenant got canned after 25 games. The Chargers' ownership is famously cheap and dysfunctional. Chicago could appeal, though the Bears' are only in Year 2 with their new head coach and GM.
That leaves only the Commanders. Stretch your imagination. Picture it again.
Can't you see it?
