San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan has revealed he offered Bill Belichick a coaching role at the 49ers but was “politely” turned down.
Belichick is the most successful coach in Super Bowl history with six titles but has been out of work since leaving the New England Patriots in January after 24 trophy-laden years.
He interviewed for the head coach position at the Atlanta Falcons but was overlooked in favour of Raheem Morris.
Shanahan was eager to tap into the 72-year-old’s vast experience and offered him a place on the staff – “whatever he wanted to do” – an offer that is thought to have included the role of defensive co-ordinator that was eventually filled by Nick Sorensen.
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But Shanahan rebuffed his advances and, as it stands, will start the 2024 season as an analyst for Inside the NFL.
Shanahan told The TK Show podcast: “I did, I threw it out to him.
“He loves football so much that you never know what he … 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 its simplest form, so I threw it all out to him, whatever he wanted to do.
“I was like, ‘would you be interested?’ And he was very nice and appreciative, but he politely turned me down.”
Shanahan admits Belichick’s arrival could have caused problems down the line
Shanahan is convinced Belichick will be back on the sideline soon, however, and failed to suppress his admiration for a man who has 302 career NFL wins to his name.
“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.”
