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LAS VEGAS — It is strange enough to have a Super Bowl without Bill Belichick on the sidelines.
A full NFL season without Belichick?
Sounds crazy … and yet sounds like reality in 2024 after Belichick split with the Patriots and wasn’t hired for any of the other seven head-coach vacancies.
Belichick, who has appeared in 11 Super Bowls as a head coach or coordinator, only interviewed with the Falcons.
“A year later, he’s not getting any younger,” “The NFL Today” analyst Bill Cowher said Tuesday at Super Bowl LVIII. “It’s a young man’s game. Let’s face it. You are constantly trying to get the young infusion. What you saw down in Houston with DeMeco [Ryans], we’re all looking for that kind of instant thing — a young quarterback and a young head coach paired together like a young Bill Belichick and a young Tom Brady.”
Cowher, now 66, retired from the Steelers after the 2006 season.
Belichick, 72, is close to the NFL’s all-time wins record and still would be a “great asset,” Cowher said.
Boomer Esiason, another CBS analyst, said this week on WFAN’s “Boomer and Gio” show that he was told by an NFL executive that Belichick turned down an offer from the Falcons.
But Esiason isn’t surprised it didn’t work out.
“When he comes into the building, he wants the building,” Esiason said. “The owner has to be willing to say, ‘You can have the entire building because the people we have in here are so inept that I have to get rid of them.’ The Falcons have a pretty good building — they’ve had pretty good drafts. The only thing they’ve been missing is a top-end quarterback.”
So, where is the right fit for Belichick?
“If Bill couldn’t get what he wanted, he wasn’t just going to take a job to take a job,” Esiason said. “I think it has to be a legacy team … that is void of winning. That’s not the Cowboys.”
Is that a subtle suggestion of the Giants?
“I’m not saying that,” Esiason said. “I love Brian Daboll. I hope he does well.”
Backing Brock big time
Chase Young — a trade-deadline addition by the 49ers — thinks Super Bowl LVIII features quarterback greatness.
“I think Brock Purdy is the best quarterback in the league,” Young said.
Not Mahomes? Why?
“His numbers,” Young said.
Purdy, who led the NFL with 9.6 yards per pass attempt, is more often called a “game-manager” than he is called “the best.” Not that he minds the perceived backhanded compliment.
“I feel like that’s a compliment,” he said. “I think you’re doing things right, mentally, and obviously, you’re good enough to be able to hit guys that are open and make plays.”
Chiefs LG a ‘long shot’
Chiefs LG Joe Thuney (pectoral) is a “long shot” to practice this week and play Sunday, according to head coach Andy Reid. RB Jerick McKinnon is on injured reserve with a “slim chance” to return.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is expecting full participation in Wednesday’s practice, including TE George Kittle (toe).
More Spags love
The love affair between Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and his players continued.
Spagnuolo could become the first coach to win four Super Bowls as an offensive or defensive coordinator, as first reported by The Post.
“I think Spags should be in the Hall of Fame,” DT Chris Jones said. “Look at his résumé.”
