Skip Bayless: Bill Belichick Was Just a 'Glorified Defensive Coordinator' During Patriots Dynasty

A lot of news has been flying around over the last few weeks, so it has gone a bit under the radar that Bill Belichick is not the most popular head coaching candidate. It maybe shouldn't come as a surprise that the Belichick program is not for everybody and he would only fit in a very specific set of circumstances, but it is definitely shocking to see Belichick unemployed for weeks and getting only one interview. The Atlanta Falcons are the only team that has exhibited any interest and met with the all-time great coach; when Belichick left the New England Patriots, there were seven teams (including Atlanta) that needed a head coach.

Since then, three of those spots have been filled. The Las Vegas Raiders hired Antonio Pierce, the Los Angeles Chargers inked Jim Harbaugh, and the Tennessee Titans got some guy named Brian Callahan. These were all unlikely destinations for Belichick for different reasons but they didn't even look his way. And at this point, it doesn't seem like anyone else will, either. Every team is pretty far along in their interviewing cycle and Belichick has been open for business.

With each passing day, the possibility that Belichick gets passed over by every team grows closer to reality. Most people would consider that a crazy future. Skip Bayless, of course, is not most people. During a discussion about his coaching prospects for 2024 and place in the all-time great head coach hierarchy, Bayless stated Belichick was merely a "glorified defensive coordinator" for all those years in New England and is not the greatest head coach of all time.

Well. We've heard some wild Belichick takes, but this one really takes the cake.

The "Tom Brady made Belichick" argument is well-worn by now and we do not need to rehash it in this space. But I believe this is the first time I've heard someone use it to discount Belichick's head coaching entirely, that we shouldn't even think of him as a head coach.

Which is obviously absurd because so much goes into being a head coach other than dictating what happens on either side of the ball. And Bayless knows that. I'm sure Belichick didn't meddle too much with the offense when Brady was there. I won't dispute that. But there was a whole lot of other stuff that he had to dictate! Like, say, choosing Brady to start over Drew Bledsoe in the first place, which was not as clear-cut a decision as it looks with the benefit of hindsight. Or finding and hiring Josh McDaniels, who orchestrated the best years of Brady's career and helped him set records.

Nothing within a professional sports organization happens in a vacuum and Belichick was in charge of everything. Not only that, but he then made the right decision at nearly every single turn for two decades. He faced millions and millions of choices over those seasons and consistently struck gold. He found the best coaches and studied the right tape and hit all the right notes with his motivational tactics to win year after year, Super Bowl after Super Bowl.

So much goes into being a head coach it is almost incomprehensible. Belichick juggled all the responsibilities for 20 years so successfully that his first championship and last championship came 17 years apart. You cannot deny the magnitude of that achievement, even if you believe Brady was responsible for a large chunk of the team's success.

Even by Bayless' impressive standards this is an inane take. And we aren't even in the offseason yet! Buckle up, folks.