Jerry Jones may have one last trick up his sleeve.
The Dallas Cowboys owner decided to part ways with head coach Mike McCarthy, leaving Jones to search for a new voice to lead his locker room.
And that new voice may currently be located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
That is, if it isn’t too late.
NFL insider, Jordan Schultz, reported that Bill Belichick would have had interest in being the head man for ‘America’s Team’, but didn’t think the job would be open.
He surprisingly chose to go down the college route, and was named the head football coach at the University of North Carolina in December.
Schultz reported that Jones and Belichick would have had interest with one another if the job in Dallas were to open up.
“Bill Belichick would have been interested in the Cowboys’ job, and it’s believed that Dallas would have been interested in him, had he known the position would become available,” Schultz reported on X.
“Belichick and his camp never received any indication during back channel conversations that the job would open up, which is partly why he ended up at UNC.
“Belichick has an excellent relationship with the Jones family.”
The job became available on Monday morning, albeit it may be too late now.
The six-time Super Bowl winning head coach signed a five-year, $50million contract with North Carolina, but there is an out if Belichick wants to leave.
An expensive out, but an out nonetheless.
The contract has a $10m buyout should he decide to leave before June 1, 2025.
Anytime after that, the buyout decreases to $1m.
Is Jones willing to pay the $10m buyout if he wants Belichick to coach his team?
Would Belichick leave UNC before he even coaches a game?
Those answers will come in due time, but as of now, Belichick states he doesn’t have any intention of leaving UNC.
Appearing on The Pat McAfee Show on Monday morning, Belichick doubled down on his commitment to the university.
“Most of my focus right now is on recruiting at North Carolina,” Belichick said.
“I’ll be out on the road most every day in January.”
It sounds like Belichick will be busy trying to court 17 and 18-year-olds to come to North Carolina, while Jones may have missed his latest chance at making a franchise-alerting hire for his beloved Cowboys.
It remains to be seen if Jones can pull one last rabbit out of his hat.
And if it is indeed Belichick, that rabbit is going to cost $10m just to get out of the hat.
That price tag would be enough to deter most owners away, but this is Jerry Jones…
Never say never.
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