Former Patriots HC Bill Belichick refused an opportunity to coach in the NFL in 2024

The New England Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick parted ways this offseason after 24 years working together, and after Belichick failed to get another head coaching opportunity, he's joined the media for this season.

However, those weren't the only available opportunities for Belichick in the football world.

On a recent episode of " The TK Show ," San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told The Athletic's Tim Kawakami that he offered Belichick the team's open defensive coordinator job.

"I did, I threw it out to him," Shanahan said ( transcribed by NBC Sports ). "He loves football so much that you never know what he ... I can't believe 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 its simplest form, so I threw it all out to him, whatever he wanted to do, [including defensive coordinator]. I was like 'Would you be interested?' And he was very nice and appreciative and he politely turned me down.

"I'm sure he's going to be back in the league next year and I could be going against him. He could be in the NFC West. It would have sucked if he came here and then he was going against us, so that's the stuff you have to be careful about. But he's the best and I just like talking to him."

Belichick and Shanahan's father, Mike, who was a two-time Super Bowl champion head coach with the Denver Broncos, are long-time friends, so there's obviously a connection there already. But with Belichick's brilliance running San Francisco's defense, and the younger Shanahan's creativity on offense, they would've been favorites for this year's Super Bowl.