Belichick avoids questions about 49ers coaching offer, but praises Shanahan originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
Bill Belichick is known as the greatest football coach of all time.
More than that, he is also a Hall of Famer when it comes to avoiding questions in interviews.
He again showed that greatness on Monday in his comments about Kyle Shanahan’s quest to bring Belichick to the 49ers coaching staff this offseason.
Last month, Shanahan revealed that the former New England Patriots coach turned him down San Francisco Open Offer.
During an apparition on “The Pat McAfee Show”, Belichick was asked about Shanahan’s recent statement, but the notoriously private coach declined to share any juicy details.
“Thank you for the question, [but] I’m just going to keep all the conversations I’ve had between any other coaches, teams, whatever — we keep them private,” Belichick responded.
Instead, he chose to praise Shanahan and his father, Mike, another longtime NFL coach and winner of multiple Super Bowls.
“Kyle is great. … I have a lot of respect for him, for his father and the way they coached the game, what they did for the game,” praised Belichick. “I love Kyle and Mike Shanahan. I think they do an excellent job.
“I’ll leave our personal relationship aside, but I study them a lot. I learned a lot from Kyle and Mike. They are great coaches and their teams are very competitive.”
It’s not quite the same as the distinction of bringing him onto your team, but it’s certainly an honor for Shanahan to receive that kind of praise from a coach of Belichick’s caliber. After all, Belichick would know as well as anyone, as Shanahan’s Atlanta Falcons had an infamous 28-3 lead over the Patriots. at Super Bowl LI.
At the same time, fans can only imagine a world in which these two lauded football minds were on the same coaching staff – and how close that came to becoming reality.
