After Bill Belichick parted ways with the New England Patriots after 24 seasons there, the legendary coach was expected to soon land another job elsewhere.
Some felt he would catch on with the Atlanta Falcons, but they went instead with Raheem Morris, which seemed like an underwhelming hire.
According to former Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff, they passed on Belichick because they didn’t want him to come in and assume any power over personnel moves, per ProFootballTalk and Boston.com
“Look, any time Bill goes into an organization, you would assume whatever your thoughts are about him, he deserves the right to run it. . . . Maybe there was a group inside the building who kept pushing back to Arthur. Let’s call it the way it is. Any organization wants to keep their world, right?”
Thomas Dimitroff suggests Falcons’ front office pushed Arthur Blank not to hire Bill Belichick. https://t.co/GP9p0cfL6g
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) February 7, 2024
Throughout Belichick’s tenure with New England, he was also their de facto general manager, and amidst their struggles this season, he was widely criticized for putting together a roster that simply couldn’t win or give quarterback Mac Jones the support he needed to develop.
The post-Tom Brady era has been painful for them, and ultimately the decision was made to move on from Belichick.
The coach is in his early 70s and is approaching Don Shula’s record for most wins ever by a head coach, which has led many to feel his coaching days aren’t over yet.
But it looks like he will spend the 2024 season as a spectator unless something very unexpected happens in the coming months.
On the other hand, the Falcons don’t exactly seem to have the type of team that could’ve gotten Belichick past Shula’s all-time mark of 328 victories.
While rookie running back Bijan Robinson had a nice year and Drake London is a nice young wide receiver, they don’t have a legitimate NFL-caliber quarterback, and they have some holes on defense.
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Raheem Morris Names 2 Players He Likes The Most On Falcons’ Roster
