Browns reportedly fond of Bill Belichick ahead of potential coaching search

It’s been a bad season for the Cleveland Browns, who find themselves with only three wins going into Week 16’s matchup against the Buffalo Bills.

It was also a bad season for Bill Belichick’s North Carolina Tar Heels, who were 4-8 in his first season as a college football head coach.

But perhaps the Browns and Belichick could meet this offseason.

According to former NFL insider Josina Anderson, there has been recently expressed interest in Belichick on an exploratory basis from two NFL teams.

“My understanding is Belichick has upper-level personnel still fond of him in Atlanta, New York, Cleveland, whilst all struggling teams going through customary evaluations this time of year,” Anderson shared on X Thursday morning.

I'm told there's been recent interest expressed, at the very least, in speaking with Bill Belichick on a exploratory basis from two teams , per league source.

My understanding is Belichick has upper-level personnel still fond of him in Atlanta, New York, Cleveland, whilst all… pic.twitter.com/jNvgFBAGET
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) December 18, 2025

Belichick has “upper-level personnel” still fond of him within the Browns, according to this report.

The 73-year-old head coach has spoken tremendously about the Browns, where he began his career as a head coach in the NFL from 1991-1995. When the team moved to Baltimore, Belichick was fired. He immediately landed with the New England Patriots.

Belichick coached the Patriots for 23 years. He has won six Super Bowls as a head coach and two more as an assistant coach.

As the pressure mounts on Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski after another failed season, it sounds like the heat has turned up. Before the season, Browns owner Jimmy Haslam professed that 3-14 wasn’t going to cut it, and the team would know what better looks like.

Now, at least according to one reporter, the Browns are interested in a potential conversation with one of the best NFL coaches of all time.

Belichick being linked to this job will not come with some controversy. His 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, rubbed some people the wrong way during his first season at UNC. There were rumblings that the Tar Heels were pursuing a split at one point, but that never materialized.

In the NFL, Belichick would not have to worry about recruiting, the transfer portal or NIL. Instead, he could focus on leading the team as a CEO figure, which is what many believe the Browns are in search of.

Back-to-back three win seasons would make anybody believe that Cleveland has a losing culture. Hiring somebody like Belichick would be a risk, because he hasn’t had success in several years, but there’s no denying that he would bring a winning pedigree into the organization.

The Browns have three games remaining until they finish another wasted regular season. It seems like Stefanski could be playing on the string if reports are already surfacing that the Browns could be exploring a splash of this magnitude.