Bill Belichick appears to be enjoying his season away from the stresses of coaching, as he makes the rounds talking about the NFL on too many podcasts and television shows to count.

But ever since the 72-year-old wasn’t hired during the coaching carousel last offseason, all eyes moved toward this upcoming winter as the time when Belichick would make his return to the NFL sidelines.

The Athletic’s Diana Russini wrote in her weekly “what I’m hearing” column Saturday that she asked 10 NFL coaches and executives to name the best landing spot for Belichick next season. Russini noted that three teams were mentioned most frequently: the Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Let’s examine each option listed:

The Jaguars entered the 2024 season expected to contend in the AFC South with quarterback Trevor Lawrence surrounded by a talented group of skill players, including first-round wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., and an improving defense.

However, Jacksonville has limped into their bye week at 2-9, already looking toward the draft next spring. Jaguars coach Doug Pederson likely will be fired, creating an opening on the sidelines for, say, an eight-time Super Bowl champion coach.

Russini noted that if Belichick did choose the Jaguars, it’s expected that he would want Jacksonville to clean house in the front office, including general manager Trent Baalke, who has occupied the role since David Caldewell was fired in Nov. 2020.

Jacksonville is far from a stable organization under owner Shahid Khan, but the Jaguars do have a franchise quarterback in Lawrence—even if he hasn’t looked the part at times in his fourth season.

Just about everyone thought owner Jerry Jones would fire coach Mike McCarthy in January after the Cowboys were embarrassed 48–32 by the Green Bay Packers at home in the wild-card round of the playoffs.

Instead, Jones brought back McCarthy for another year, and Dallas finds itself out of the playoff picture in ’24 with a 3-7 record and a five-game losing streak. The Cowboys have the second-worst rushing attack in the league this year (81.7 rushing yards per game), and quarterback Dak Prescott was ruled out for the season with a hamstring injury earlier this month.

All signs point to a coaching change at Jerry World this offseason. Jones loves to make a splash in just about everything he does, and there isn’t a bigger splash in the NFL coaching ranks these days than bringing on Belichick.

A beloved New England Patriots icon staves off retirement by heading south and spending a few seasons in Tampa. Where have we seen this before?

Belichick following in Tom Brady’s footsteps would be equally hilarious and ironic, but the Buccaneers are an intriguing fit for Belichick in 2025. Current coach Todd Bowles probably has more job security at this point than the aforementioned Pederson and McCarthy, but Tampa Bay (4-6) could be looking to make a change depending on how the final seven regular-season games go this season.

The Buccaneers do have a franchise quarterback in place in Baker Mayfield, and Mike Evans still can register a 1,000-yard receiving season in his sleep. Tampa Bay’s defense needs help, but that’s Belichick’s bread and butter anyway.