Ever since six-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots parted ways earlier in the month, rumors have linked him to the Atlanta Falcons’ opening.
Belichick, 71, has conducted two interviews with the Falcons. He has not really been linked to any other team since the Washington Commanders opted to hire a traditional general manager in Adam Peters to run the front office.
Apparently, Belichick’s demands to play player personnel control has become somewhat of a sticking point for the Falcons.
“Basically Arthur Blank wants to hire Bill Belichick, and all the front office people in Atlanta don’t want to hire Belichick because it’s like any big company — sport franchises are like microcosms of all big companies. The people that run the franchise, they just want to keep their jobs, they’re in job preservation mode.”
Report on Bill Belichick and the Atlanta Falcons
There are now currently only five head coach openings around the NFL. Belichick has not been linked to any of them outside of the Falcons and Carolina Panthers. Even then, one new report could end up surprising the football world altogether.
Related: NFL insider suggests Atlanta Falcons could be having second thoughts about Bill Belichick
NFL team with current head coach interested in Bill Belichick
“Per a league source with knowledge of the situation, multiple teams are quietly considering a potential run at Belichick. At least one currently has a head-coaching vacancy. At least one currently does not,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio reported recently.
This could end up being big news around NFL circles. It’s also not necessarily hard to narrow down the teams with current head coaches who could be interested in Belichick.
Mike McCarthy of the Dallas Cowboys was on the hot seat after his team was blown out by the Green Bay Packers in the NFL Wild Card Playoffs. Owner Jerry Jones has since committed to him.
Embattled Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni was also reportedly on the hot seat following a disastrous end to their season. Despite losing five of six to conclude the regular season and getting blown out by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs, Sirianni also appears to be safe for the 2024 season.
Other non-playoff teams have already gone through the season-ending interviews and are prepared to move forward with their coaches.
This leaves one team as a real possibility. The Buffalo Bills. For the sixth time in seven seasons under Sean McDermott, Buffalo failed to reach the AFC Championship Game. Built to win right now, the Bills suffered a devastating home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Sunday’s NFL Divisional Playoffs.
Could the Bills’ brass decide that moving off McDermott for Belichick makes sense? Would the future Hall of Fame head coach want to stick it to his former New England Patriots team in the AFC East? We’ve seen stranger things happen.