Asante Samuel is sending a message to NFL owners looking into hiring Bill Belichick ... warning them, under no circumstances, do NOT give him general manager powers!!
Samuel tells TMZ Sports given the way it all ended in New England ... Belichick's next employer shouldn't even remotely entertain the idea.
"If any owner would give Bill Belichick that power again," the former Patriots star said, "that would be crazy."
Belichick, of course, held both the head coach and GM roles for New England during his 24-year tenure in Foxborough .