San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed that he offered former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick a role on his coaching staff after his 24-year tenure in New England ended.
Belichick “politely” turned down that opportunity.
Shanahan revealed the news in an exclusive interview with Tim Kawakami of The Athletic on “The TK Show” podcast (conversation begins at 25:15 mark).
Following his departure from New England, Belichick had extensive conversations with the Atlanta Falcons about becoming their head coach before they decided to go with Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris. Now, the 72-year-old Belichick is taking the year off and will appear on Inside the NFL.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise as to why Shanahan would want the legendary coach on his staff. When asked if he offered a formal role to Belichick, the 49ers coach replied as follows:
“I did. I threw it out to him. He loves football so much…I can’t believe that 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 the simplest form. So I threw it all out to him. Like whatever he’d want to do.
When Kawakami asked if that meant the defensive coordinator role, which was available after the team parted ways with Steve Wilks, Shanahan replied that it did and asked Belichick if he would be interested.
“He was very nice and appreciative, but he politely turned me down,” Shanahan said.
Shanahan then said that Belichick is helping out his son, University of Washington defensive coordinator Stephen Belichick, as he starts his tenure in Seattle under new Huskies first-year head coach Jedd Fisch.
Shanahan also said he expects Belichick to be back in the NFL next year, joking that he could have to face the legendary coach in the NFC West.
For now, though, Belichick is taking the year off. As for the DC gig, the 49ers promoted defensive passing game/nickel cornerbacks coach Nick Sorensen.
