The music on this coaching carousel stopped with Bill Belichick and Mike Vrabel. Vrabel’s prospects back in the league remain strong, but Belichick’s age and the events of this year’s recruiting season have made his landing prospects uncertain.
Another NFL HC job. No coach in Belichick’s age group has landed the job, with Bruce Arians (66) being HC’s oldest hire. Belichick’s age (72 in April) was clearly a factor for the Falcons, who interviewed him twice. But there also seems to be some degree of territorial protection.Longtime Falcons owner Albert Bree of SI.com said Arthur Blank really wanted to hire Belichick this year.
Belichick initially appeared to be the frontrunner, but after the team expanded its search after a second round of interviews (including Vrabel and Jim Harbaugh), it appeared another candidate would be hired. The Falcons have signed Raheem Morris to a five-year contract, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Morris remained popular among Falcons players even though most of his teeth left the season as interim coach.
If Belichick is hired by the Falcons, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports noted that there would be an organizational “foundation” in both football and business. It’s understandable for employees to be concerned about losing their jobs or dramatically changing their roles, and that appears to be the main reason Belichick isn’t currently hiring in Atlanta.
Blank and Falcons CEO Rich McKay led the team’s coaching search, and the team announced that GM Terry Fontenot will provide input. That suggests a vulnerability in the four-year general manager’s position, but McKay insisted that was not the case after Arthur Smith was fired.
Hiring Morris puts Fontenot in a good position, and the Falcons’ GM said he will now report to the owner while pushing McKay on the business side. The Athletic’s Jeff Howe points out he’s not on good terms with Belichick (subscription required). Belichick’s arrival certainly meant a downsizing for Fontenot and likely had an impact on McKay.
But despite McKay’s 21-year tenure with the Falcons, Blank shouldn’t have replaced his former general manager while trying to appease Belichick. According to Charles Robinson of Yahoo.com, Blank remains loyal to McKay. He says McKay’s long relationship with Morris, whom he hired as a quality control assistant in Tampa during his time as Buccaneers GM, played a role in the Rams’ hiring. DC. .
The six-time Super Bowl champion is believed to meet some of the HC requirements, but Belichick’s credential coach, who is out of the cycle this year, has expressed concern about the job security of his staff from office. Belichick and Blank reportedly haven’t discussed who will make the final decisions on personnel matters, but Robinson added that Belichick believes Atlanta football operations should go through him if he takes the job.
Before the Belichick-Patriots parted ways, the 24-year-old New England HC indicated he was willing to give up some of his remaining rights. It doesn’t seem to involve a real commitment to change. Howe added that if Robert Kraft believed Belichick would be open to changes in philosophy and roster building in the front office, owners would be inclined to keep him around through the 2024 season.
Belichick’s contract with the Patriots runs through 2024. , but Kraft has followed a long-term plan that goes further. With Jerod Mayo under contract until 2023, the number of assistant positions has skyrocketed.The post-Tom Brady years in New England clearly played a role in Belichick extending his coaching free agent status.
Belichick’s handling of the quarterback position after Brady’s departure in 2020 has also affected how teams view him, Howe added, and Mack Jones is at the center of that concern. Belichick came up with a strange plan to move Matt Patricia to the offensive end, where he will pull plays in 2022
The season marked a steep decline for Jones, who finished behind only Ja’Marr Chase in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting. Jones’ regression continued under his third OC in three years (Bill O’Brien), and his NFL future suddenly became bleak. Belichick demoted Jones to third quarterback in Week 18, and ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss said before the game that poor work from the scout team led the departing HC to make the move.
It marks the latest chapter in a steadily deteriorating relationship between Belichick and the passer he selected 15th overall three years ago. Belichick’s comments about Jones before he went down in 2023 confused some league executives, Howe added. Had Belichick remained with the Patriots, ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano said he would have been expected to target the veteran quarterback this offseason. Belichick never outgrew his QB role coaching Drew Bledsoe and Brady in New England.
However, he signed Vinny Testaverde while managing the Browns in 1993 and later was part of a Jets team that used a veteran pickup at quarterback. That’s moot when the Pats advance.Coach Belichick has continued to play stingy defense without key pieces this season, but his GM position has resulted in the Patriots having one of the worst rosters in the NFL.
The excellence of Belichick’s personnel has provided Brady-led teams with many underrated gems that have helped them make Super Bowls in the past. But the 50-year-old draftee’s status in the NFL has clearly declined.
Only the Falcons and Chiefs are believed to have spoken with Belichick about the HC job.However, the Eagles and Cowboys could be teams to watch in the 2025 cycle. This could be Belichick’s last chance to land another HC job.
Both teams considered Belichick last month, but each team in the NFC East kept their struggling coach. The Eagles retained Nick Sirianni, but the Super Bowl HC did not agree to his specific demands regarding his coordinator, Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal told 98.5’s Felger.
Leave a Reply