The San Francisco 49ers needed a new defensive coordinator this past offseason, and head coach Kyle Shanahan threw a Hail Mary to try to add an all-time great to his staff.

Shanahan recently said he offered Bill Belichick the 49ers' DC job earlier this year, but the legendary coach "politely" declined it.

"I threw it out to him," Shanahan said on "The TK Show." "He loves football so much that you never know. I mean, I can't believe that he's not a head coach of a team right now. I know what I would do if I was an owner, so that shocks me. And the last thing you want to do is insult someone like Bill Belichick, but I know he just loves ball in the simplest form. So I threw it all out to him. Whatever he'd want to do.

"I was like, 'Would you be interested (in the defensive coordinator job)?' He was very nice and appreciative, but he politely turned me down."

In January, the New England Patriots and Belichick parted ways after 24 seasons and six Super Bowl titles together. The 72-year-old - who's widely regarded as one of the greatest head coaches ever - interviewed with multiple teams and was a finalist for the Atlanta Falcons' head coaching job in the offseason. However, he wasn't hired and isn't expected to coach in the NFL in 2024.

Meanwhile, the 49ers fired former defensive coordinator Steve Wilks after San Francisco's Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in February. The Niners ultimately promoted defensive pass game specialist and nickel cornerbacks coach Nick Sorensen to DC.

Shanahan's outfit wasn't able to bring Belichick in, but it did add a former head coach to his defensive coaching staff, hiring Brandon Staley as an assistant.

"It could be good, too, because I'm sure he's gonna be back in the league next year and I could be going against him," Shanahan added about Belichick. "It could be in the NFC West, so it would've sucked if he came here and then he was going against us."

Belichick's Patriots claimed a remarkable victory over the Falcons - whose offense was then coordinated by Shanahan - in Super Bowl LI after New England was down 28-3.