Pat McAfee might’ve spilled the beans.
The increasingly popular ESPN personality recently has been pursuing a special guest for his show’s alternative NFL Draft broadcast. And, after watching Wednesday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show, it’s hard not to think the guest will be former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
Pat McAfee Teases Possible Bill Belichick Guest Appearance
Since Belichick left the Patriots in early January, multiple reports have indicated the NFL legend could pursue a TV gig in 2024 before returning to coaching in 2025. Belichick’s oldest son, Steve, recently confirmed his dad is looking at options in broadcasting.
During Wednesday’s episode of his show, McAfee told guest Daniel Jeremiah, a draft expert for NFL Media, that he’s working on landing a big fish for his draft broadcast.
“We got a whale. We got a whale,” McAfee said. “I know you guys got your thing going on on NFL Network, and we follow along. We watch it as we’re doing our thing on the internet or whatever. The person that’s gonna be joining us on this thing is a big one. … I think the announcement is gonna be big.”
That led to this exchange:
Jeremiah: “Does his first name and last name start with the same letter?”
McAfee: “We don’t know. I’m not giving away anything. Don’t you even think I’ll be giving away anything.”
Jeremiah: “I just have a wedding ring. He’s got like seven more.”
Wonder if the person in question's name rhymes with Will Welichick… pic.twitter.com/QJojqqlySJ
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 27, 2024
McAfee’s recruitment of Belichick is no secret. After Belichick went unhired in this offseason’s coaching cycle, McAfee said he wanted to add Belichick as a weekly guest.
“I will make this promise that if Bill Belichick is gonna go do TV, ol’ Pat McAfee will be in the running to try to get Bill Belichick to join our program,” McAfee said in January.
A few weeks later, he added: “I am trying my best to get Bill Belichick on this program at least once a week going forward. Just at least once a week going forward into football season. Could you imagine us peppering Bill Belichick every single week throughout an entire football season?”
Nothing’s official, and McAfee on Wednesday stressed that fans shouldn’t get carried away. But this seems to be heading in one direction.
What Are the Latest Bill Belichick-TV Rumors?
The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand has been the leading authority on Belichick’s potential TV plans.
In early March, Marchand reported that Peyton Manning was recruiting Belichick for a role with his Omaha Productions company. The goal, in part, would be to pair Belichick with recently retired Alabama legend Nick Saban for an alternative college football broadcast on ESPN, similar to the widely popular “ManningCast”.
Marchand also reported Belichick had “many options” on his table and already had met with executives from NBC and CBS. However, Marchand noted Belichick wasn’t interested in a weekly studio show and only wanted to talk about “aspects of football that interest him.”
Bill Belichick took a page out of Coach’s book and brought his own headgear 😂#CollegeGameDay pic.twitter.com/ttcth1EAP5
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) December 9, 2023
Marchand offered more reporting on Wednesday morning.
“While ESPN continues to pursue Bill Belichick, Belichick has told networks he is disinclined to be part of a regular studio show, according to officials briefed on the talks,” Marchand wrote. “ESPN could combine with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions and NFL Films to secure the legendary coach for a broadcasting role.”
Marchand also reported that retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce is being recruited by multiple networks, including ESPN.
KEEP READING: Stephen A. Smith Skeptical of Bill Belichick as a Broadcaster — ‘I Don’t Think Bill Belichick Is Going To Be Good at All’
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