Bill Belichick's comments about NFL interest tell us about teams he didn't have interest in

Bill Belichick gave an interview with Jim Gray on Tuesday, in which the new North Carolina head coach gave us some insight into his thought process on opting to join the Tar Heels over waiting for a potential NFL head coaching job.

Speaking on Gray's Let's Go podcast, Belichick was asked about whether he thought there would've been interest from an NFL team in hiring him this offseason.

"You know that's a hard question to answer, Jim, because ultimately those aren't my decisions," Belichick said, "But sure, I think there would've been some interest, but in the end it's not about what there could've been or would have been, it was about the opportunity at North Carolina."

"I just think this program is at the right spot now to take off," Belichick continued, "Chancellor Roberts and the board of trustees have made a strong commitment to football at North Carolina. I'm here with Mike Lombardi as our general manager to do all we can to accelerate that process."

While Belichick's comments seem to be praising the Tar Heels and their commitment to football, they also say far more about the NFL jobs likely to come open this offseason than they do about North Carolina specifically.

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Think about it; which jobs are the likeliest to have interest in Belichick this offseason?

There are the for sure openings: the Chicago Bears and New York Jets. The Jets, as detailed by ESPN's Seth Wickersham, are a full-on non-starter. He has far too much bad history with that franchise to ever think of stepping into the facility as coach again, for either side.

As for the Bears, there are some positives, but not many. Sure, they have Caleb Williams, but general manager Ryan Poles appears to be fully entrenched in Chicago, and they have a lot of areas, particularly on defense and the offensive line, that are in dire need of shoring up. On top of that, Bears ownership has a bit of a reputation as being unwilling to make the necessary changes to compete in the modern NFL, so they're not exactly an ideal landing spot for a six-time Super Bowl champion head coach who wants a big say in personnel decisions, and to be able to bring his own people in.

But even if you move beyond the sure-fire openings to likely and potential openings, you find teams who are, frankly, a mess. The Las Vegas Raiders have a significant talent deficiency on both sides of the ball at this point, and an owner in Mark Davis who has a habit of meddling in personnel decisions.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are a complete disaster at the moment; franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence looks lost, and the expensive collection of talent they have on the offensive side of the ball have failed to deliver on their promise. They feel like they're careening toward a full-on rebuild.

The New York Giants have what might be the least talented roster in the NFL this season, with significant needs on both sides of the ball, and seem to be heading into a full rebuild. They also don't seem like a team who'd be willing to give Belichick the kind of control over the roster he'd want.

The Bengals have the offensive talent to compete, but they have an infamously cheap owner who seems unlikely to give Belichick the kind of freedom he'd want to build a team in his image. The Browns have a contentious history with Belichick, and the Titans feel like they're in need of a full rebuild, something Belichick feels unlikely to do.

The lone outlier here is the Dallas Cowboys. They have the kind of roster in need of tinkering, but not a full-on, strip-to-the-screws level rebuild. They have an owner in Jerry Jones who is likely willing to meet Belichick's salary and staff demands, but it's far from a perfect fit. Jones is an infamous meddler in personnel decisions, something Belichick hates, and while Dallas feels like the singular team in this cycle who could tempt him away from Chapel Hill, it's also far from an ideal situation.

In other words, Belichick's now infamous low buyout in the lead up to next season is about flexibility should an unforseen job open, giving him the option to leave. But given the current caliber of job on the table, it's no surprise he headed to the Tar Heels. It keeps him in the game, but gives him the flexibility to say no to all but the most perfect NFL openings.

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