FOXBOROUGH — When he walked to the podium and looked out at the dozens of media members, who’d all schlepped to Gillette Stadium on short notice, just for a second Bill Belichick had a little mischief in his eyes.
“I haven’t seen this many cameras since we signed (Tim) Tebow,” the now former Patriots coach cracked to open the joint presentation that revealed that he and the Patriots were going their separate ways.
It was funny both because it was a good line and because Belichick actually made a joke. It was a reminder that underneath all of his obfuscation and information secrecy is a pretty engaging personality.
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Belichick still wants to coach and someone will obviously give him that chance. But he shouldn’t. He should do television.
That’s not a joke.
When Belichick chooses to be, he’s a terrific speaker, thoughtful, funny and insightful. He’s got a library’s worth of football knowledge kicking around in his brain — both X’s and O’s and history of the sport.
His final chapter could be sharing that knowledge and changing his public image from curmudgeonly grump to wise ol’ professor.
He was terrific on the NFL 100 series on the NFL Network. He shared stories and broke down the evolution of the game in ways that were actually fun. He’s engaging at Patriots Hall of Fame Enshrinement ceremonies.
The Don Shula victory record is still out there to be achieved. But that’s honestly an absurd mark, a made up record. Combined regular season and postseason victories comparing two careers during which the number of regular season games and postseason rounds changed isn’t apples to apples. Add in salary cap and expansion and it’s even more ridiculous.
Belichick won six Super Bowls and he led the Patriots to nine conference championships. Who cares how many total victories there were. In six seasons, he built teams that were better than everyone else in the sport and in three more he was among the top two. The rest is unnecessary math. It’s not a record worth reshaping his life and career for at his age.
Belichick would be good on pregame/halftime/desk show. How funny would it be to see him verbally sparring with Rex Ryan, who has had a lot to say when Belichick wasn’t able to respond. He’d be solid on games too, pointing out things on a play that the average viewer would miss.
But he’d be outstanding in some Sunday afternoon version of the Manningcast. He’d need the right partner with him, but picture him breaking down some plays, telling old football stories and explaining what goes into coaching decisions in key spots. It might take him a couple weeks to get comfortable, but the “Belicast” or whatever they called it could be terrific.
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It would be good for his health and for his lifestyle. He wouldn’t have to move if he didn’t want to. He could do that and stay in Massachusetts, close to his Nantucket vacation home. If he wanted to move, he could go anywhere. He could move to Maryland and be a fixture at Navy home games or return to his beloved spots in New Jersey.
His life after football doesn’t have to exclude football. He could stay in the sport without ever losing another game and spend his professional time talking football.
That’s a pretty good way to do your job.
Follow MassLive sports columnist Matt Vautour on Twitter at @MattVautour424.
