The Atlanta Falcons appeared to be in the driver’s seat to land ex-New England Patriots head coach Belichick.
But on Thursday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris will instead be the Falcons’ new head coach. With that, only the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Commanders have head coaching vacancies.
The Falcons interviewed Belichick twice and looked poised to hire the six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach. So what led to the front office going into another direction?
For starters, ESPN’s Dan Graziano reports that the Falcons’ organizational structure made things complicated with Belichick. Some in the organization weren’t keen on the idea of hiring a soon-to-be 72-year-old head coach, instead wanting a better long-term option:
“Multiple sources have said for weeks that Blank went into this process wanting Belichick, and I think the league and the industry expected that to work out. But there were hurdles that couldn’t be cleared. The organizational structure in Atlanta involves Blank and CEO Rich McKay, and a lot of the discussions with Belichick centered on the idea of what McKay’s role would be if Belichick came to coach the team — and how much power and control the various parties would have in the end.
Belichick — who is 15 wins shy of breaking Don Shula’s all-time record for most by a head coach — was seen as a short-term play, so there were some in the Falcons’ building who were concerned about overhauling things extensively only to potentially have to do so again in a few years. Blank may have gone into the process wanting Belichick, but he also went in with an open mind and was willing to listen to the input of others in his organization.”
On top of that, Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston reported that the Falcons appeared to have gotten “cold feet” on Belichick as more time passed. On top of that, Curran added that Belichick would have wanted to do things “his way”, but no team was going to give him that much power.
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As well, Albert Breer explained that no team would “throw him the keys” the way the Patriots gave them to him.
During his 24-year run with the Patriots, Belichick was also the de facto GM who had final say on all player personnel decisions. As Breer explained, NFL teams just don’t operate with that type of structure anymore.
The 47-year-old Morris was on the Falcons’ coaching staff under Dan Quinn from 2015 to 2020. After Quinn’s firing in the midst of the 2020 season, Morris finished the season as the interim head coach.
Morris won a Super Bowl 56 ring as the Rams’ defensive coordinator in the 2021 season.
