Bill Belichick may have to wait for his next full-time coaching opportunity, but he will be making an appearance with a major college football program in the near future. On Tuesday morning, Nebraska football announced the former New England Patriots coach as the guest speaker at an upcoming “X’s & O’s Clinic” in early April.
Although it probably won’t have any actual impact on the field in 2024, bringing in Belichick is a pretty strong flex for Matt Rhule entering his second season with the Huskers.
🚨𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲🚨
— Nebraska Football (@HuskerFootball) February 20, 2024
8-Time Super Bowl Champion Coach Bill Belichick will headline as our guest speaker at this year’s Nebraska Football X&O’s Clinic 🏈‼️
📅 April 5-6
📍 Hawks Championship Center
🔗 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗨𝗽 ➡️ https://t.co/FzMk4zukv8#GBR x #WhatsNExt! pic.twitter.com/KWFb4TbMRY
Of course, social media being what it is, jokes were flying around after the announcements.
Christian Fauria, who played at rival Colorado and later for Belichick with the Patriots, didn’t appreciate the sartorial choices made by the Huskers’ graphic designers.
Not sure about the red hoodie. Taking some liberties with that move. https://t.co/Q9rjD9w0rP
— christian fauria (@christianfauria) February 21, 2024
Meanwhile, former Nebraska standout Will Compton is hoping for a shout-out from Rhule.
Hey @CoachMattRhule can you make sure to walk him down the Captain Hall? Maybe sneak a shoutout in there when you get to the 2012 photo.
— Will Compton (@_willcompton) February 20, 2024
But don’t go too overboard.
Gotta stay cool.
A number of fans joked about Rhule hiring Belichick as an analyst in a very Saban-esque move.
Can we hire him as an analyst for a year?
— Makar🐐 (@JaysonRamsey9) February 20, 2024
Future analyst? https://t.co/OZOacGEPrN
— Coach Ben Aude (@CoachAude) February 20, 2024
One fan poked fun at Nebraska’s lack of recent success during the actual season.
raise the banner https://t.co/14L3cADzm4 pic.twitter.com/x5xZ0s2mjn
— Luke Bogus (@lukebogus) February 20, 2024
And naturally, there were some sideswipes from Huskers fans at Big Ten rival Iowa.
@CavemanDave22 @Scottgunz1 @ope_scuse_me I wonder if Iowa could even get Steve Belichick 😂 https://t.co/I6JmkQeTiz
— Dale Lassek (@nebraskaboydale) February 20, 2024
Iowa could never 😎
— Johnny GBR (@gbrhomer) February 20, 2024
Obviously Belichick’s weekend appearance in Lincoln doesn’t mean a whole lot for the Huskers going forward, but at the very least, it shows how well-connected Rhule is in the coaching world.
But as we all know, that will never stop the denizens of the internet from cracking their jokes.
