The 2018-19 FBS head coaching cycle has come and gone without former Wisconsin and Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema‘s name being called. In fact, he wasn’t a candidate for any of the 28 jobs that changed hands.
And it appears that’s just fine with him.
Bielema has spent the year under the wing of Bill Belichick, first as a scouting assistant and then as a consultant to the head coach. With Brian Flores set to become the Miami Dolphins’ head coach after next Sunday’s Super Bowl, the Patriots are going to be in need of a defensive coordinator, and Bielema apparently thinks it’s going to be him. As Ben Volin writes for the Boston Globe:
The report goes on to state that it’s rare for Belichick to pick an outside hire as one of his coordinators, but that precedent would seem to favor Bielema, not Schiano. Though it seems like Schiano and Belichick are longtime colleagues because Schiano’s name has been linked to the Patriots for eons, the former has never actually worked for the latter. Bielema at least has 11 months of experience in New England.
Either way, it seems as if Bielema has no immediate plans to return to college football, which is a shame for everyone who’s a fan of outdated approaches to offense and colorful press conference quotes.