Patriots icon links Bill Belichick with this former team amid rumors

Long before Bill Belichick established himself as arguably the greatest head coach in NFL history while with the New England Patriots, he earned his first two career Super Bowl rings serving as an assistant and later as defensive coordinator with the New York Giants from 1979 through the 1990 season.

During a recent appearance on FS1's "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" program, Patriots icon and Super Bowl LIII Most Valuable Player Julian Edelman strongly suggested Belichick would embrace finishing his coaching career with the Giants.

"If that (job) opens up, I remember vividly, anytime we played in New York or played the Giants, you could see the jingle in Belichick’s spirit because he loved talking about those old Giants teams," Edelman explained, as shared by Jimmy Hascup of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "He loved talking about that organization."

Belichick was first linked with the Giants this past winter shortly after the club ended its 2023 season holding a 6-11 record. It was subsequently reported during the spring that the 72-year-old would "be interested" in coaching one of the Giants, Dallas Cowboys or Philadelphia Eagles in 2025.

While the Cowboys and Eagles are expected to compete for at least playoff spots during the ongoing season, the Giants looked like an absolute mess in their campaign-opening 28-6 loss to the Minnesota Vikings this past Sunday. It was said even before that game that Giants co-owner John Mara had not yet "completely promised" head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen that they will remain with the organization beyond Week 18.

"...I am not calling for anyone’s job," Edelman said. "I love Daboll. Daboll is my favorite. But the fate of what they’ve put on the field. … You’re going to go down with that ship."

Daboll completed a pair of stints with the Patriots earlier in his career.

As of Wednesday afternoon, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Giants at +110 betting odds to win over 5.5 games this season. If such forecasts prove to be accurate, Mara could give Belichick a call about attempting to fix a franchise that has notched only one playoff victory since it won Super Bowl XLVI in February, 2012.

For his part, Belichick is just 15 wins away from setting an NFL record for career victories earned by a head coach (regular season and postseason combined) but may have to settle for accepting a gig with a "rebuilding" team should clubs such as the Cowboys and Eagles hold onto their staffs.