NFL insider names Falcons as team potentially interested in Bill Belichick

As they say, time is a flat circle, and nowhere is that more true than with the Atlanta Falcons. This is an organization that has spent the last eight years chasing its own tail, making absolutely zero progress toward becoming a legitimate playoff contender. That’s hard to do in a league specifically designed to enforce parity.

It’s very possible that by season’s end, the Falcons will be searching for both a new head coach and a new general manager. Raheem Morris has been overmatched at virtually every turn, and Terry Fontenot has now clinched his fifth straight losing season in five attempts. There’s no real argument for either of them returning. But if you think simply changing those two will suddenly fix things, you haven’t been paying attention.

The real problem in Atlanta lies with the people making the final decisions — Arthur Blank, Rich McKay, and the rest of the inner circle that consistently shields itself from accountability under the ever-popular Flowery Branch buzzword: “collaboration.” Those are the same voices that will be leading the next hiring process, and if history is any indication, that means more of the same is coming.

The latest example of this dysfunction comes via Josina Anderson reporting that the Falcons are among several teams that still hold Bill Belichick in high regard as a potential head coaching candidate.

“I’m told there’s been recent interest expressed, at the very least, in speaking with Bill Belichick on an exploratory basis from two teams, per league source,” Anderson reports on Twitter/X. “My understanding is Belichick has upper-level personnel still fond of him in Atlanta, New York, Cleveland, whilst all struggling teams going through customary evaluations this time of year. Additionally, I’m told up to 7 more teams are monitoring potential change at head coach (Giants and Titans are open), & up to 3-4 more teams are considering change at general manager, at this time. The Miami Dolphins already have a GM vacancy.”

Now, we have to clear up two things regarding the Falcons’ potential interest in Bill Belichick.

There’s only one person in the building who could realistically be fond of the former Patriots head coach, and that’s Arthur Blank. It’s been well documented that Blank wanted to hire Belichick previously, but internal pushback came from guys like Terry Fontenot and Rich McKay, largely out of concern for their own job security. Ultimately, the people around Blank convinced him to go in a different direction, a decision he’s probably regretting after the way the last two seasons have unfolded.

That said, passing on Belichick does not automatically mean the Falcons made the wrong decision.

At this point, anyone with a shred of common sense can acknowledge how strange things have become in Chapel Hill since Belichick took over. The situation has bordered on circus-like, highlighted by his bizarre relationship with 24-year-old Jordan Hutson. On the field, the results were just as ugly. North Carolina went 4–8 in Belichick’s first season, including a 2–6 record in the lowly ACC.

So yes, the idea that Belichick could even be mentioned as a potential option is comical, but this is the Falcons we’re talking about, so nothing can ever be ruled out.

Would it really be that surprising if the same leadership group that passed on Raheem Morris five years ago in favor of Arthur Smith, only to fire Arthur Smith and then hire Raheem Morris, ended up doing the exact same thing with Bill Belichick after firing Morris?

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Photographer: Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire

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