NFL rumors: Bill Belichick finding a new job might be more far-fetched than you think

The New England Patriots parting ways with Bill Belichick might not be the biggest surprise following what was a disastrous season, but any time an all-time great is let go there's always at least a little bit of shock.

When taking into account that Belichick is arguably the greatest head coach in NFL history you'd think teams with and maybe even without vacancies would be lining up to hire him. I mean, it's Bill Belichick for crying out loud! While that might be the case, other factors might make it a bit less likely that he will find a new job so quickly.

Bill Belichick's desires make it less likely that he finds a new head coaching job so quickly

Chad Graff and Diana Russini of The Athletic (subscription required) wrote about the decision for the two sides to part ways. They went over everything Belichick did well during his time with the Patriots while also touching on what went wrong and who the next Patriots head coach could be. While all of that was interesting, the most interesting thing to come out of this piece is the discussion revolving around what's next for Belichick.

"It seems likely that he’ll pursue another coaching job, though it would need to be the right situation where Belichick could have the final say in roster construction — a situation he covets — while being paid more than $20 million per season. Belichick remains 14 wins shy of Shula’s all-time victories record, a mark he would like to surpass."

- Chad Graff and Diana Russini

To sum up, Belichick is looking for a massive contract which would include him having the final say with roster construction, and a team that's ready to win right now with him trying to surpass Don Shula's NFL all-time wins record. That's a lot.

As Graff and Russini note, it feels rather unlikely that teams will be willing to pay Belichick what he wants while also handing over complete control of personnel decisions. After watching what Belichick has done the last couple of years while serving as the GM of the Patriots, who can blame them? Everyone knows Belichick can coach, but his track record as a GM has been far from flawless.

If Belichick can't get everything he wants, the question becomes how desperate he is to coach right away. If he can compromise he'll surely find an opportunity, but if there is no job he considers to be the perfect fit, it's hard to see him taking anything.