Former Patriots coach Bill Belichick to join Inside the NFL program

After making a foray into television this offseason at the NFL Draft, former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has announced that after retiring from coaching the NFL this offseason, he is now joining NFL Films’ Inside the NFL. He’ll join former Steelers defender Ryan Clark, former Bengals receiver Chad Johnson and former Eagles defensive end Chris Long on Inside the NFL, adding unparalleled insight into the game from a coaching perspective.

“I’m thrilled to join my new team at NFL Films and to work on such a historic television franchise,” Belichick said in a statement, via reporter Aaron Wilson.

During his stint as Patriots head coach, Belichick won six Super Bowl titles and developed multiple All-Pros, including, most famously, quarterback Tom Brady. The coach-player duo became the face of the NFL for multiple decades as they routinely finished atop the AFC East and made deep runs into the playoffs even when they weren’t winning Lombardi Trophies. Brady is also stepping into a broadcasting role this season, joining FoxSports’ top team for gameday.

Patriots end Belichick era following four-win season

Bill Belichick’s success with the organization began to decline when Brady left following the 2019 season. Brady, meanwhile, would go on to win a Super Bowl with his new team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New England went 7-9 the season after Brady departed, then managed to improve to 10-7 the following year in 2021. But neither season included an AFC East title and 2021’s playoff appearance ended in an exit in the Wild Card round. New England went 8-9 in 2022 but finished just 4-13 in 2023. Worse, the organization didn’t seem to have much positive momentum heading into the offseason, leading to the Patriots parting ways with Belichick in favor of Jerod Mayo.

After making his appearance at the NFL Draft, Belichick made it to the stage for the Greatest Roast of All-Time, the roast of Tom Brady on Netflix.

“For all of you out there who think about who’s responsible for the Patriots’ success during the time Tom and I was together — was it Tom or me — in reality the truth of the matter was it was both of us because of me,” Belichick joked.

It’s unclear how long Belichick plans on working with Inside the NFL, or if a potential return to coaching is on the horizon. The details of his deal with the CW are not yet public. There were several job openings he could have taken around the league, however, he didn’t land a new head coaching job or even a coordinator job.