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Cam Newton has faced Bill Belichick twice. Cam Newton has beaten Bill Belichick twice. Cam Newton is a free agent. But Bill Belichick has shown no inclination to adopt the manta, “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.”

Scott Pioli, who won three Super Bowl rings setting the personnel table for Belichick in New England, believes Belichick and Newton would have a hard time coexisting.

“The Patriots thing is interesting because I’ve heard a lot of people talk about that,” Pioli said in an appearance with Zach Gelb of CBS Sports Radio. “And in my mind, having spent as much time with Bill as I did, I don’t see those two coexisting together. . . . The personalities and the beliefs of how the game should be played and is played . . . it seems like oil and water. Now as soon as I say that, what’s gonna happen next week is they’ll probably sign him.

“But I just see them as being very different personalities and having very different approaches to the game. Bill understands — he believes in football more than entertainment. Cam believes that football and entertainment are almost equal partners. In which this day it is, but Bill has the soul of a football man and I couldn’t see that one working out too well. And if it did it would have to be for probably one season.”

It also would have to be a creative contract, given that the Patriots are currently strapped for cap space.

Through nearly two weeks of free agency, no team has been linked to Newton. The Chargers continue to be the no-brainer option. Other teams, like the Dolphins and Raiders, are intriguing. But given what mobile quarterbacks like Newton have done to Belichick over the years, it’s hard not to think that Belichick at least has pondered what his team’s offense would look like with Newton under center.