3 NFL teams deranged enough to pair Aaron Rodgers and Bill Belichick in 2025

Aaron Rodgers has essentially punched his ticket out of NYC after a horrendous season with the New York Jets. Bill Belichick, meanwhile, is still on the prowl for his next head coaching gig after a historic, decades-long stint with the New England Patriots.

Which dares us to ask: What if they teamed up?

According to NBC Sports' Mike Florio, folks around the league are wondering just that.

"Belichick wants to coach next year," Florio writes. "If he ends up in a spot where a long-term quarterback isn’t under contract, Rodgers could be a quick fix for a year (maybe two) at the most important position in the game."

It's a tantalizing possibility. Not because it's a remotely smart decision for a franchise in need, but because the #content would be glorious. So many annoying interviews. So many bad vibes. It's hard to comprehend just how cursed a Belichick-Rodgers team would be. It is the worst idea I've heard in a while, and that's precisely why is must happen to one unlucky franchise.

The NFL really does seem over the whole Belichick experience — he's interviewing with colleges now — but it's hard to deny six rings and a mountain of accolades. Rodgers, too, has a lot of shiny hardware to flash at prospective suitors. So, if this does happen, here are the teams where it feels most plausible.

3. The Carolina Panthers are dumb and desperate under David Tepper

Tepper is widely considered one of the worst owners in professional sports. He's famous for rash decisions and rampant miscalculations, often meddling too deeply in football affairs for the Carolina Panthers' own good. The result has been one of the worst teams in the NFL for a couple years running — and a real mounting sense of desperation around the organization.

First-year head coach Dave Canales has honestly done an impressive job under imperfect circumstances, but the Panthers are trending toward four or five wins. When faced with the possibility of hiring the most accomplished head coach of his generation, might Tepper let Belichick soothsay his way to another NFL gig in Carolina? It certainly feels possible.

The Panthers are still, in theory, committed to former No. 1 pick Bryce Young, but that partnership feels doomed (and borderline toxic). Carolina just hasn't put the support system around Young necessary to compete, nor even to promote actual positive development. Young has been better this season than last, but again, the allure of established names like Belichick and Rodgers could prove too intriguing for a perpetually off-base Panthers organization.

Does Belichick want to work under a hands-on, largely incompetent owner like Tepper? Probably not, but the dude is running out of options. So, plug Belichick and Rodgers into the Panthers, trade Young for pennies on the dollar, and Carolina might be able to compete for third place in the NFC's weakest division.

2. Bill Belichick, Aaron Rodgers, and Tom Brady on the Las Vegas Raiders? Why not...

Tom Brady has officially been approved as minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders. We know majority owner Mark Davis likes splashy names on the sideline. Before turning the head coach job over to locker room favorite Antonio Pierce, Davis' last two hires were Jon Gruden and Josh McDaniels. The latter was plucked directly from the Belichick coaching tree.

We know Davis considered Belichick last offseason before removing the interim tag from Pierce's title. What felt like the right move at the time has aged poorly: Pierce has lost the locker room and the Raiders just aren't performing up to expectations. That could lead Davis to learn the wrong lesson and turn to another splashy name — the splashy name. Belichick was already on his radar this past cycle, and the addition of Brady just completes the puzzle.

The relationship between Brady and Belichick is actually quite complicated — it may even stand in the way of this marriage — but if those two let bygones be bygones and lean into their shared past of football excellence, there's a world in which the Raiders go all-in on the "Patriot Way." Rodgers is the final piece to the puzzle, replacing Gardner Minshew and giving the win-starved Raiders an established option under center.

This feels like too much ego in one building, but hey, it's Las Vegas. There isn't a more appropriate venue for the inevitable fireworks.

1. The New York Giants can keep Aaron Rodgers in town with bold pivot

So ... Brian Daboll isn't long for his job with the New York Giants. Neither is GM Joe Schoen, for that matter, which could swing the door wide open for the Giants to hand full control over to a former enemy of the state in Bill Belichick. After a couple bitter Super Bowl battles with the Giants, what if Belichick flips allegiances and tries to put New York back on the map?

It's a compelling hypothetical. If you thought the Giants were incompetently run now, just wait. Rodgers would slide into the QB role once occupied by Daniel Jones, allowing New York to forgo a weak draft at the position and wait a couple years to find their long-term solution at QB. Belichick and Rodgers bring a certain credibility — or at least a sense of stature — to a team that is widely disrespected in league circles. Snatching Rodgers from their crosstown rivals is the cherry on top.

This, again, is a terrible plan for any team, but the Giants do appear uniquely equipped to stumble into this trap. Both their coach and their GM are on the hot seat, ownership is asleep at the wheel, and the QB position has been a depressing void pretty much since Eli Manning hung 'em up. The Giants would need to invest in the O-line and try to turn this defense around, but you can bet Malik Nabers would embrace the Rodgers partnership.

Any team signing Belichick and Rodgers is setting itself up for acute disappointment, but it's an utterly fascinating hypothetical for football fans and fans of absolute chaos. As such, we have no choice but to advocate for it.