The San Francisco 49ers sought a new defensive coordinator this past offseason, and head coach Kyle Shanahan extended an offer to a highly esteemed candidate.
Shanahan revealed that he approached Bill Belichick with the opportunity to join the 49ers’ coaching staff as defensive coordinator, but the veteran coach declined.
“I threw it out to him,” Shanahan said on “The TK Show.” “He loves football so much that you never know. I mean, 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 the simplest form. So I threw it all out to him. Whatever he’d want to do.
“I was like, ‘Would you be interested (in the defensive coordinator job)?’ He was very nice and appreciative, but he politely turned me down.”
In January, the New England Patriots and Belichick parted ways after 24 seasons and six Super Bowl titles together. The 72-year-old, widely regarded as one of the greatest head coaches, interviewed with multiple teams and was a finalist for the Atlanta Falcons’ head coaching job in the offseason. However, he wasn’t hired and isn’t expected to coach in the NFL in 2024.
The 49ers parted ways with former defensive coordinator Steve Wilks following their Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in February. Ultimately, the team promoted defensive pass game specialist and nickel cornerbacks coach Nick Sorensen to defensive coordinator.
Although Shanahan did not succeed in bringing Belichick to the 49ers, he added former head coach Brandon Staley as an assistant to the defensive coaching staff.
“It could be good, too, because I’m sure he’s gonna be back in the league next year and I could be going against him,” Shanahan added about Belichick. “It could be in the NFC West, so it would’ve sucked if he came here and then he was going against us.”
Belichick’s Patriots notably defeated the Falcons, whose offense was coordinated by Shanahan, in Super Bowl LI after overcoming a 28-3 deficit.
