The Falcons are casting a wide net into the hiring pool, and at least publicly, the club’s search for a head coach is wide open, but it’s clear to everyone that Bill Belichick is the frontrunner for Atlanta’s vacancy.
Last Monday, the former Patriots head coach interviewed for the first time and then met again a few days later on Friday. The first was a one-on-one with Arthur Blank while Terry Fontenot, Rich McKay and others were present for the second meeting.
Thus far, the Falcons have interviewed over a dozen candidates, but Belichick has been the most connected to Atlanta. The architect of the Patriot Way has only been interviewed by one club, though.
Most recently, according to Mike Florio, “Multiple teams are quietly considering a potential run at Belichick.” The insider added that one currently has a head coach vacancy while the other does not.
Why are the Falcons the only team to pursue eight-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick?
Florio has been of the opinion that they aren’t. Even before Florio’s report about other teams potentially making a run at him, the insider reported that Belichick turned some teams away already.
According to Florio, there’s “belief in some league circles” that the Eagles and Cowboys expressed interest in Belichick, that he “didn’t reciprocate,” forcing Dallas and Philadelphia to stick with their current coaches.
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. The Falcons are very clearly high on Belichick, and most respected members of the media believe he’ll be named the club’s next head coach, which brings about more questions than answers, in my opinion.
What direction will Belichick take at quarterback? How long does he intend on coaching in Atlanta? Who is going to be the offensive coordinator? Well, we may have an answer for the last one.
According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, Belichick could go back to the well he’s visited so often and bring former Raiders head coach and former Patriots offensive coordinator to Atlanta.
“Belichick of course has interest there,” Rapoport said. “And do not be surprised if Josh McDaniels ends up landing with Belichick if he goes to Atlanta.”
If that were the case, I’d expect the rest of the staff to look like it did in New England. That means guys like Matt Patricia and Joe Judge coming over with Belichick as well. He’s 71 years old and isn’t going to all of a sudden try something new. Belichick isn’t going to venture outside of his circle of trust, regardless of where he lands.
The idea of adding McDaniels might not land softly on Falcons fans, but there might be reason for optimism. During his two stints with the Patriots, from 2006-2008 and 2012-2021, he coordinated 12 top-10 scoring offenses out of 13 seasons.
Granted, many of those came with Tom Brady under center, but McDaniels did help guide a rookie Mac Jones to the most successful season of his career in 2021. The Alabama product led the 6th highest-scoring offense en route to a Pro Bowl.
Once he left New England, McDaniels experienced varying results. In 2022, the Raiders’ offense ranked 12th in yards and points but regressed in 2023 to 27th and 23rd in those metrics, respectively.
It would be a predictable hire for Bill Belichick, but Falcons fans should maybe start to wrap their heads around it because it’s certainly trending in that direction.
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Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire
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