Why Falcons decided to not hire Bill Belichick

NFL

By Christian Arnold

The surprise surrounding the Falcons’ decision to hire Raheem Morris as their new head coach on Thursday over the legendary Bill Belichick hasn’t worn off, but it’s starting to surface what factors ended up deterring Atlanta in the end. 

While Belichick’s resume is unquestionable, he was seen as a “short-term play” and that raised concerns for some in the Falcons organization over extensively overhauling things only to have to do it again in the near future when Belichick left, according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano. 

Belichick had been the odds-end favorite to get the Falcons job and it was said that owner Arthur Blank wanted the former Patriots coach as the next man to lead the team. 

But speed bumps started to present themselves in the process and there was a question of organizational control and what role CEO Rich McKay would have if Belichick were to head to Atlanta, according to the report. 

There had also been an issue of “how much power and control the various parties would have.”

Belichick had interviewed twice for the Atlanta job and CBS reported over the weekend that Blank “desperately” wanted the former Patriots coach for the job.

Nevertheless, the hiccups seemed to be too much for Blank, Morris clearly wowed enough people and the Falcons owner remained open to the idea of someone other than Belichick. 

Now the legendary head coach only has potentially two job opportunities left that could still come his way. 

Both the Seahawks and Commanders are still looking for head coaches, but Belichick is considered a longshot for either position, according to The Athletic. 

League sources told the outlet that it would “take a change of direction” for Belichick to end up coaching Seattle or Washington.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Belichick had no other known interviews scheduled.