Before agreeing to become the head football coach at the University of North Carolina on Wednesday, Bill Belichick reportedly considered the Chicago Bears to have the NFL's most desirable head coaching vacancy.

According to ESPN's Seth Wickersham, Belichick and some of his former New England Patriots assistants in Josh McDaniels, Matt Patricia and Michael Lombardi met weekly over Zoom during the 2024 NFL season to break down games and discuss the league landscape.

They reportedly came to the conclusion that the "most attractive" NFL head coaching job available was that of the Bears, however, they all agreed that the Bears likely wouldn't have interest in Belichick due to their desire to bring in an offensive-minded coach to help guide quarterback Caleb Williams.

Wickersham noted that most people around the NFL agree with that sentiment as well, and feel the Bears will make a run at Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to be their next head coach following the firing of Matt Eberflus.

From 2000 to 2023, Belichick was head coach of the Patriots, and he established himself as arguably the greatest head coach in NFL history during that time.

After going a pedestrian 36-44 in five seasons as the Cleveland Browns' head coach, Belichick went 266-121 in New England.

That run included 17 AFC East titles, a 30-12 playoff record, nine trips to the Super Bowl and six Super Bowl wins.

Despite all of his success, Belichick and the Pats agreed to part ways at the conclusion of the 2023 season, which saw the team go 4-13 and miss the playoffs for a second consecutive campaign.

Belichick was expected to be a hot commodity during the hiring cycle, and although he had some interviews, no NFL team opted to hire him.

Still, the expectation was that he would give it another shot at the end of the 2024 NFL season, and the fact that he met with his assistants weekly suggests that it was his plan initially.

The Bears, if they were interested, could have provided the 72-year-old Belichick with a great deal of upside.

Although Chicago has now dropped seven straight games after a 4-2 start, and hasn't made the playoffs since 2020, there are quality pieces in place that suggest a come-up could be on the horizon.

Williams, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, has show flashes of brilliance during his rookie season, plus he has some quality weapons such as wide receivers D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze, running back D'Andre Swift and tight end Cole Kmet.

On defense, the Bears have plenty of talent as well, including defensive linemen Gervon Dexter and Montez Sweat, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and cornerback Jaylon Johnson.

Although Belichick removed himself from the equation and will now coach collegiately for the first time in his illustrious career, there will undoubtedly be a ton of interest in Chicago's head coaching job in the weeks to come.