Bill Belichick Will Be Inescapable on ESPN’s NFL Shows This Season

BRISTOL, Conn. — Bill Belichick won’t be “on to Cincinnati” this season. Instead, the notoriously gruff coach will be embracing his new role as an NFL analyst across ESPN as well as other media outlets.

The eight-time Super Bowl–winning coach will have a full ESPN schedule. Among his duties:

• Belichick will appear on all 11 episodes of ManningCast. Consider it a peace treaty among longtime NFL frenemies: Peyton Manning’s Colts repeatedly dueled with Tom Brady’s Patriots; Eli Manning’s Giants bested Belichick’s Pats twice in the Super Bowl.
  
• On Sept. 6, Belichick and Peyton Manning will launch a new ESPN+ series dubbed The Breakdown. The partners will preview upcoming Monday Night Football games starting with the Week 1 matchup between the Jets and 49ers. New episodes will drop every Friday.
  
• Belichick will also appear as a guest on Pat McAfee’s show every Monday during the season. McAfee has built an A-list roster of his guests for his weekday show, including Belichick and former Alabama coach Nick Saban.

Belichick will discuss football at a “Ph.D. level,” said Burke Magnus, ESPN president of content, at the sports media giant’s media day in Bristol on Wednesday. “We couldn’t be more happy to have Bill join the team through these two vehicles, and really bring his unique presentation and analysis of football to both of those environments. So having him on Pat’s show, having him on the ManningCast, is going to be incredible.”

Will The Hoodie stay with ESPN for the long run—or even in sports media, period? Who knows. The 72-year-old coaching legend is only 15 wins behind the late Don Shula as the winningest NFL coach of all time. He could always return to the sidelines after a year on TV.

Saban, also 72, seems more comfortable with his retirement from coaching. Magnus said he hopes Saban, who was impressive on College GameDay this past Saturday, will be with ESPN for years to come.

Colin Salao contributed to this report.