Bill Belichick talks Eagles, Bryce Huff, and Haason Reddick on this week’s ‘Let’s Go!’ podcast

Bryce Huff hasn’t won over many fans since arriving in Philadelphia in March on a three-year, $51.1 million contract. The 26-year-old pass rusher, who was brought in from the New York Jets to replace the disgruntled Haason Reddick, has not recorded a sack, a solo tackle, or even a pressure through two games. But Huff has at least one fan: six-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Belichick.

Belichick, who is cohosting the Let’s Go! podcast this season alongside Jim Gray, Peter King, and Maxx Crosby, had an interesting answer when asked this week by his former quarterback, Tom Brady, which NFL organizations outside of the Kansas City Chiefs he thinks are operating “a bit above everyone else.” Belichick listed the Dallas Cowboys, the Eagles, the Detroit Lions, and the Houston Texans as teams he thinks are managed well.

“Philadelphia is also in that division, and they’ve also put together a pretty good roster,” Belichick said. “They continue to make great moves like signing Bryce Huff and trading away Reddick and giving that problem to somebody else.”

» READ MORE: After Eagles’ pass rush is a no-show vs. Falcons, Bryce Huff concedes ‘I need to find myself in the scheme’

While it has been only two games, calling the signing of Huff a “great move” is quite a take, especially coming from one of the most revered football minds of all time. Belichick likely would be familiar with Huff’s game from his time coaching against him in the AFC East with the New England Patriots. Huff posted his best game of the season last year against New England, when he logged two sacks, two tackles for loss, and four QB hits in a Week 17 win for the Jets.

Belichick’s foray into media this season has been eventful. He makes weekly appearances on The Pat McAfee Show and Monday Night Football’s Manningcast on ESPN, is a panel member on the CW’s Inside the NFL television show, and cohosts podcasts Let’s Go! and Coach alongside former Eagles de facto defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. This past week, Belichick worked the Eagles’ Monday night game against the Atlanta Falcons for ESPN.

Belichick’s visit to Philadelphia is not without backstory. The Eagles reportedly weighed the idea of hiring the three-time AP Coach of the Year this offseason before ultimately deciding to stick with Nick Sirianni for a fourth season.

Belichick, 72, somewhat surprisingly was passed over for all of this offseason’s head coaching vacancies but has made it clear he has no desire to retire his cutoff sweatshirt and headset just yet — especially since he needs just 14 wins to break Don Shula’s NFL record. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman and owner Jeffrey Lurie remain big fans of his, and ESPN reported in April that Roseman reached out to Belichick to check in after the coach was fired. A source close to Belichick told ESPN that the call did not include any conversations about him coaching the Eagles.

But after the Eagles squandered a late lead on Monday to Atlanta, with some questionable decisions from Sirianni, it begs the question: Could Belichick and the Eagles eventually be a match?

» READ MORE: Late-game decision making in the Eagles’ loss to the Falcons turned up the heat on Nick Sirianni

For now, that seems a ways away, as Sirianni has a .660 winning percentage as Eagles head coach, has guided the team to three straight playoff appearances, and is two seasons removed from nearly winning a Super Bowl. But the way things ended last season, with the team losing six of its last seven games — including a listless 32-9 playoff loss to the Tampa Buccaneers in the wild-card round — amid internal turmoil and disorder, Sirianni is under pressure to win now. A few more losses, especially in the manner of Monday’s defeat to Atlanta, and the Belichick chatter likely will only get louder.

Lurie, who grew up in the Boston area, has repeatedly spoken of his admiration for Belichick, including at this year’s NFL owners meetings. But would he be willing to uproot the framework of the organization to accommodate a coach who requires a level of control and who would bring in his own people when it comes to player personnel and coaching staff? These were contention points at the end of his time in New England, where Belichick, as veteran Patriots beat reporter Greg Bedard told The Inquirer’s Jeff McLane on last month’s podcast episode of unCovering the Birds, “lost his touch with personnel.”

Lurie and Belichick talked briefly on the field pregame Monday, as did Roseman and Belichick, and Lurie remains “enamored” with the coach, according to McLane. The other dynamic Bedard and McLane discussed on unCovering the Birds is the fact that Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Lurie “hate each other” and that Lurie wouldn’t mind sticking it to Kraft by hiring Belichick and having him break the wins record and win a Super Bowl in midnight green.

Belichick, as McLane has noted, also was high on Jalen Hurts entering the 2020 draft, and that could be another attractive part of this job for him. The former Patriots coach is close with former Alabama coach Nick Saban, who coached Hurts for three seasons before the quarterback transferred to Oklahoma for his final year, and would have done his due diligence on the signal-caller in his pre-draft process. After this week’s Let’s Go podcast, at minimum, we know Belichick likes the Eagles roster.