‘Bill Belichick is having a PR makeover’, says NFL insider who reckons coach who ‘hated media is getting in front of it’

BILL Belichick is making the most of his newfound free time.

For the first time since 1974, Belichick , 72, is without an NFL coaching job during preseason after he and the New England Patriots parted ways in January.

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Not that Belichick didn’t try to get straight back into the hot seat, having interviewed twice with the Atlanta Falcons for their vacant head coaching position before they hired Raheem Morris.

Now that all 32 head coaching spots have been filled and no immediate vacancies are in sight, Belichick has decided to delve deep into the media world.

This season, Belichick will be working overtime, with regular appearances scheduled on both The Pat McAfee Show and the Monday Night Football ManningCast .

Most recently, Belichick announced that he would be joining Underdog Fantasy to produce a new YouTube series, Coach .

But Diana Russini of The Athletic believes there is more to Belichick’s media renaissance.

“The guy who hates the media is getting in front of it,” she said on FS1’s The Herd with Colin Cowherd .

“Around the league though, the conversations — there is definitely some chit-chat: ‘Look at Belichick playing the media darling role. Going through a public relations makeover.’

“A facelift, so to speak to connect with those owners to show, ‘Look, I connect with those young people, I can be cool.

“‘I’m not just the old ball coach. I’m able to adapt.'”

Russini compared Belichick’s approach to head coaching free agency to Pete Carroll and Mike Vrabel – both of whom lost their positions after last season.

While Carroll has taken on the role of advisor to the Seattle Seahawks , Vrabel has stepped right back onto the gridiron, working as a consultant for the Cleveland Browns .

“I just find it really interesting to watch the different, let’s just call them PR moves here, for both these coaches who I think will both have jobs next year, show the owners ‘Pick me, choose me,'” Russini said of Belichick and Vrabel.

“We’ll see whos going to be the one standing at the end here, and which style worked.”

This “public relations makeover” isn’t the only benefit Russini believes Belichick’s upcoming season could bring.

'Bill Belichick is a hypocrite'

Bill Belichick has been labeled a hypocrite for taking up a career in media.

The former New England Patriots coach will work for ESPN and The CW’s Inside the NFL.

But Andrew Perloff, who co-hosts The Maggie and Perloff Show on Sirius XM, took exception.

“Networks have to stop hiring Bill Belichick ,” Perloff said.

“Someone who openly mocked the media for two decades as head coach of the New England Patriots shouldn’t be able to walk right in and get multiple media jobs.

“He never said anything useful as an NFL coach and now he’s going to get paid talk?

“As brilliant as Belichick is, find someone else.”

She explained how coaches are usually “physically and mentally spent” after leaving their positions, adding that, “They are a shell of themselves.

“Bill taking a year off, who knows what it can do for him in terms of his own personal growth at his age?” Russini suggested.

The six-time Super Bowl champion gave fans a glimpse of what they can expect from him as an analyst in April, when he appeared on The Pat McAfee Show both during one of their regular weekday shows and on their fifth annual “Draft Spectacular.”

Belichick also showed his funny side during Tom Brady’s roast on Netflix .

In front of thousands at the Kia Forum, Belichick ripped into the likes of Brady, Rob Gronkowski , and Matt Light among others, receiving rave reviews.

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