At one point, the Atlanta Falcons were an early frontrunner to hire Bill Belichick to replace Arthur Smith during their head coaching search. Reports even suggested Falcons owner Arthur Blank was ‘desperate‘ to hire the longtime New England Patriots coach.
Related: 6 best Atlanta Falcons quarterback solutions for 2024 season
But what if most of what you heard about the Falcons’ pursuit of Coach Belichick weren’t true?
Arthur Blank says Atlanta Falcons never offered Bill Belichick head coaching job
Before the Atlanta Falcons determined that Raheem Morris was the best fit for the job, rumors of Bill Belichick taking over, and wanting full control over roster decisions, ran rampant. Yet, in the first comments from team owner Arthur Blank since the coaching change was made, we’re now learning a lot more about the Falcons’ conversations with Coach Belichick.
Not only did Blank say that the Falcons never even offered him their head coaching position, he also said Belichick was never seeking full control either.
“Bill Belichick never asked in our discussions for full control of personnel or anything else in the building…. all of these things that were being produced by the media were totally not true.”
Arthur Blank on Atlanta Falcons’ discussions with Bill Belichick
Yet, perhaps the best part of Blank’s statements came when he went after NFL analyst Boomer Esiason, who previously reported that Belichick had been offered the head coaching job.
Arthur Blank tells the media on a video conference today that Bill Belichick was never offered the Falcons head coaching job. "Where Boomer (Esiason) heard that from, I have no idea."
— Mike Conti (@MikeConti929) February 9, 2024
We have no idea either, but it seemed legit at the time. Meanwhile, we still don’t know what role Belichick will have during the 2024 NFL season.
Some rumors have suggested the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach will take his talent to TV broadcasting like Nick Saban is set to do, but at this point, those are only rumors, much like Esiason’s report.
