Atlanta Falcons' pursuit of Bill Belichick has reportedly 'lost momentum'

There is more news surrounding the Atlanta Falcons and former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. According to Josh Kendall of The Athletic, the push to agree on a contract between the two has ‘lost momentum in the past week.’

It didn’t take long for Belichick to start garnering attention from other NFL franchises shortly after parting ways with the Patriots. The Falcons show the most interest, quickly setting up two interviews with Belichick, with the first pitch transpiring on the yacht of Atlanta’s owner Arthur Blank. From the reports following the second interview, the only thing that needed to be done was for both parties to sign on the dotted line. However, there are some issues preventing that from happening. And according to sports personality Bill Simmons, that issue is a divide between Blank and the rest of the organization on hiring Belichick.

“Basically, Arthur Blank wants to hire Bill Belichick, and all the front office people in Atlanta don’t want to hire Belichick,” said Simmons on the Bill Simmons Podcast. “… sport franchises are like microcosms of all big companies. The people that run the franchise, they just want to keep their jobs, they’re in job preservation mode.”

Should Belichick be hired, there is a likelihood that there will be a multitude of transitions throughout the franchise to help the legendary head coach attempt to bring Atlanta their first Super Bowl title.

Atlanta wraps up second interview with Raheem Morris

With the new news on the Falcons and Belichick, it’s anybody’s guess who their next head coach will be. However, there is one candidate who just wrapped up their second interview. According to their social media account, Atlanta has just finished their second interview with the Los Angeles Rams’ defensive coordinator, Raheem Morris.

Morris is the second possible head coaching candidate who has conducted more than one interview with the Falcons. The other is the former head coach of the New England Patriots and future Hall of Famer Bill Belichick. Plenty of individuals covering the Atlanta coaching situation believe that Belichick to Atlanta was just waiting on a signature between both parties. However, recently, news broke that the former Patriots head coach and the Falcons union has become bogged down, creating an opening for a potential hiring of Morris.

Morris’ initial interview with Atlanta was over the weekend on Saturday, Jan. 20. Falcons owner Arthur Blank and their GM Terry Fontenot must have liked what they saw and heard in the initial interview, prompting a second one three days later.

Morris has been the Rams’ defensive coordinator since 2021, helping lead the franchise to a Super Bowl berth and victory in 2022 for Super Bowl LVI. But Morris is quite familiar with Blank and the Falcons as from 2015 to 2020, he held multiple positions for Atlanta.