The saga that was (or is) the 20+ year Patriots dynasty has taken yet another interesting turn as ESPN’s Seth Wickersham, Don Van Natta, and Jeremy Fowler peeled back the curtain on Bill Belichick’s 2024 job search following his parting with New England in mid-January.
We now know that Atlanta interviewed Belichick twice before ultimately hiring former Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris to be their next head coach. But how did they get there? Here are 10 nuggets from Wednesday morning’s bombshell from the worldwide leader:
– Belichick was not seeking “total control” of Falcons personnel decisions, but rather just wanted to coach.
Despite having personnel control for the majority of his tenure with the Patriots, Bill Belichick was willing to cede to Atlanta’s front office:
“[Belichick] assured [Falcons owner Arthur] Blank that he wasn't seeking the total control he had for most of his 24 seasons in New England. He pledged to work with the team's existing group of decision-makers, including general manager Terry Fontenot.”
Later: “In the pair of interviews with Blank and Falcons executives… Belichick pledged his willingness to co-exist with Falcons executives under this new paradigm. In fact, he insisted he just wants to coach.”
– Atlanta hiring Raheem Morris left Belichick blindsided.
After two meetings with the Falcons, one with Blank on his private yacht and another with their front office at Blank’s house, Belichick reportedly felt “he had done everything right,” to land the job.
That of course didn’t happen.
“Belichick was blindsided by news that Atlanta had hired [Raheem] Morris, the Los Angeles Rams' defensive coordinator who had worked for six years as an assistant coach and coordinator in Atlanta,” says the story. “Soon, the seven offseason coaching vacancies outside New England were filled -- all by coaches with lesser résumés.”
“Told that morning that the job was his to lose, Belichick was eliminated,” the story later says. “This offseason's lack of opportunities left Belichick 'kind of shocked,' a source close to him said.”
– Belichick wasn’t among any of Atlanta’s executives' top three candidates following their coaching search.
As the Falcons ultimately went on with in process to decide on their next head coach, owner Arthur Blank reportedly has both himself and team executives rank their candidates:
“Bill Belichick didn't even finish in anyone's top three. The greatest coach of all time hadn't come close.”
As later explained in the story, the consensus was as follows: 1. Raheem Morris, 2. Former Ravens DC (now Seahawks head coach) Mike Macdonald, and 3. Texans OC Bobby Slowik.
– Robert Kraft reportedly gave a “stark” review of Bill Belichick to Falcons owner Arthur Blank.
Following their meeting, Blank and Patriots owner Robert Kraft reportedly spoke about Belichick “at least twice” over the phone as a reference check. Here’s how the story reads:
“...In a conversation with Blank, Kraft delivered a stark assessment of Belichick's character, according to a source who spoke to two people: a close Kraft friend and a longtime Belichick confidant. The source quoted the Belichick source as saying, ‘Robert called Arthur to warn him not to trust Bill.’ That account was backed up, the source said, by the close Kraft friend.
Multiple sources said that Kraft spoke with ‘some candor’ to Blank about Belichick, though the sources declined to elaborate. One source close to Belichick said Kraft ‘was a big part’ of why the Falcons passed on hiring him.
The sources said Kraft made clear to Blank that ‘you'll never have a warm conversation with’ Belichick, echoing what Bill Parcells told Kraft in 1996 when he wanted to bust the budget and hire Belichick. ‘Blank likes coaches who feel part of a family,’ a Falcons source said, "and it wasn't going to be that way with Bill.”
Kraft has since denied this through Patriots spokesman Stacey James:
“"Robert steadfastly denies saying anything negative to Arthur Blank about Bill Belichick after Robert and Bill mutually agreed to part ways. In fact, Robert advocated for Bill to get the job."
What's next for Belichick? Here are two more nuggets about what lies ahead for one of the most successful coaches ever.
– We’re likely to see Belichick on TV next football season.
Belichick was reportedly interviewing agents to help him find a job in television “within a week” of failing to land a head coaching job. According to the story, he now has one in his future.
“In the coming weeks, Belichick is expected to sign a deal to do analysis for Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions, which produces ESPN's ‘ManningCast’ during Monday Night Football.”
– Belichick still wants to coach, and reportedly has his sights set on the NFC East.
The aforementioned media deal between ESPN and Belichick is seemingly a stopgap for the GOAT head coach, who seems to still want to coach in the NFL in 2025:
“He is believed to be biding his time until next January for openings on teams he has told confidants he would be interested in coaching: the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants,” reads the story. “A source who spoke with a longtime friend of Belichick said the friend wonders if the coach will have another opportunity: ‘I don't think Bill Belichick will ever be a head coach again in the National Football League,’ the friend said. ‘Unless it's [for] Jerry Jones.’”
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