Bill Belichick's Job Prospects Reportedly Torpedoed By Robert Kraft and His Own Reputation
Bill Belichick is currently unemployed because all the NFL teams with coaching vacancies decided to go in another direction this offseason. For a while there, it seemed like the Atlanta Falcons were headed in Belichick's direction after two interviews, but instead they veered off the coaching search highway on the Raheem Morris exit ramp.
This confused many people, including Belichick, who had not only met with team owner Arthur Blank on his superyatch, but also got to fly on his private jet for his second interview. Nearly three months later we finally have some answers thanks to a piece on ESPN.com by Don Van Natta Jr,, Seth Wickersham and Jeremy Fowler. Basically, it sounds like people were intimidated by the future Hall of Fame coach, while being simultaneously worried that he wouldn't stick around very long. Not just in Atlanta, but anywhere.
The Philadelphia Eagles, who stuck with Nick Sirianni after an embarrassing collapse one year removed from the Super Bowl, reportedly had conversations about Belichick. While the franchise believed he "still had his fastball" they thought he would walk away after he got 15 victories to pass Don Shula on the all-time wins list and they'd have to do a coaching search all over again.
As for Atlanta, Belichick vowed not to overhaul everything and work with current Falcons executives, saying he just wanted to coach. Despite his assurances and the two interviews, the Falcons didn't even have him in their top three options. Possibly because of a conversation Blank had with Patriots owner Robert Kraft:
The source quoted the Belichick source as saying, "Robert called Arthur to warn him not to trust Bill." That account was backed up, the source said, by the close Kraft friend.
Multiple sources said that Kraft spoke with "some candor" to Blank about Belichick, though the sources declined to elaborate. One source close to Belichick said Kraft "was a big part" of why the Falcons passed on hiring him.
The Carolina Panthers, Washington Commanders and Los Angeles Chargers and Tennessee Titans also briefly considered Belichick, but quickly passed for various reasons. Mostly age, culture and a perceived unwillingness to play well with others. You know, all the reasons the Patriots finally pushed him out the door.
Overall, this seems like a rough situation for Belichick. He's not going to get younger or less set in his ways. The only thing that may change between this season and next is that some team might become desparate - most likely the Dallas Cowboys once Mike. McCarthy's contract reaches the termination date. Unless Jerry Jones decides to go even more all-in, it sure feels like this could be the end of Belichick's head coaching career in the NFL.
