If there's a second sports love of Bill Belichick's life outside of football, it's probably lacrosse.
The legendary head coach played both football and lacrosse in college at Wesleyan University, even becoming captain of his lacrosse team, before throwing himself completely into coaching football. He also famously signed Chris Hogan, who played lacrosse before his NFL career and played professionally last season in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL), and turned the journeyman receiver into a key contributor on two Super Bowl-winning Patriots teams.
But would Belichick consider jumping over to the lacrosse field when his time on the gridiron is over?
Paul Rabil, co-founder of the PLL, says…maybe.
"I pitched him on it!" he told the Gresh and Keefe show on Friday morning. "Maybe one day when he's not [coaching] in the NFL, he could get him to coach in the PLL."
That's perhaps not as viral an answer as the one he gave to Barstool's "Pardon My Take" last month when Rabil said Belichick was interested in making such a move and claimed the coach would win quickly if he did make the transition.
But the former lacrosse star and pro league executive Rabil said Belichick, whom he called a "dear friend" who has "done a lot for the lacrosse world," has the passion necessary to succeed as a coach outside of football.
"It's in his nature," Rabil added. "He analyzes a lacrosse game, a basketball game, a football game. He'll watch his friends who are major performers on stage and tries to figure out where peak performance lives. And he studies the longevity of a career. … His insatiable thirst to improve is a major differentiator between some of the best to ever do it in any discipline.
"He is as true-form, high-character, motivating people and coaches as I've ever been around, and I appreciate our friendship."
At 70 years old, Belichick looks as engaged in the game of football as he ever has and might even be taking on a bigger role this season with major uncertainties on his offensive coaching staff. So while conventional wisdom says he must be close to the end of his NFL career, he still hasn't shown signs of that yet.
But with as much energy as he seems to have at this stage of his life, maybe a detour to the lacrosse box on the way to retirement wouldn't be far-fetched.
