With the New York Giants head coaching job opening up this offseason, there seems to be one particular name that has been deemed the “dream scenario” for Big Blue: Bill Belichick.

Given Belichick’s success over the last 20 years and how deep the New England Patriots generally go in the postseason, that idea has largely proven to be a pipe-dream.

But on Saturday night, Belichick’s quest to repeat as Super Bowl champions ended when the Patriots were eliminated by the Tennessee Titans, 20-13.

So now with Belichick’s season over, would he not only consider moving on from the Patriots, but dare come back to his old stomping grounds with the Giants?

Belichick, who was a long-time defensive coordinator under Bill Parcells, talks glowingly about his time with the Giants and how much he respects the organization that he cut his teeth in as a top assistant coach before ever becoming a head coach.

Several media outlets have already speculated about the idea of Belichick coming back to the Giants, viewing it as maybe one last challenge for his career — a chance to be something more than one half of the Belichick-Tom Brady duo.

But what if Brady decides to either retire or play elsewhere next season, like say, the Los Angeles Chargers?

With no quarterback plan in place behind Brady, would Belichick want to stick around to see life without Brady in New England? Or would he be open to the idea of coaching Daniel Jones, someone he’s reportedly been very fond of, and guiding him through the early stages of his career and rebuild a Giants team that has been in turmoil and shambles since Tom Coughlin walked out the door?

Yes, Belichick is also 67 years old and generally, that age is when coaches tend to either consider retirement or step away. But Belichick doesn’t seem like he’s burned out given the amount of winning he’s done, and he could possibly look at the Giants job as one last mission; one last chance to show the entire NFL world just how good of a head coach he truly is.

Again, had the Patriots gone on another playoff run, the talk of Belichick coming back to New York would have remained a pipe-dream because there’s no way the Giants could have waited that long on a whim, but things have changed now.

The odds of a Belichick return are still long, but if ever there was a small sliver of hope, now would be it. It will either happen or it won’t and the entire thing can be put to bed once and for all.

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