Bill Belichick to complete second interview with Atlanta Falcons this weekend
The Atlanta Falcons will reportedly complete a second interview with legendary NFL head coach Bill Belichick this weekend, according to insider Ian Rapoport. The former Patriots head coach has already completed one sit-down with Falcons team owner Arthur Blank and the two parties are now moving forward with a second interview.
Hiring Belichick would certainly infuse the franchise in Atlanta with some excitement after the team’s third season with a 7-10 record under Arthur Smith.
During his stint as Patriots head coach, Belichick won six Super Bowl titles and developed numerous All-Pros, including, most famously, quarterback Tom Brady. He headed the organization for 24 years.
The Belichick-Brady duo became the face of the NFL for multiple decades as they routinely finished atop the AFC East and made deep runs into the playoffs.
New England went 7-9 the season after Brady departed with Cam Newton at QB, then managed to improve to 10-7 the following year in 2021, which was Mac Jones’ first season. But neither season included an AFC East title and 2021’s playoff appearance ended in an exit in the Wild Card round. New England went 8-9 in 2022 but finished just 4-13 in 2023, opting to move on from Belichick at the conclusion of the season.
Falcons looking to make big splash with next hire
On Get Up on Thursday, NFL insider Adam Schefter shared an update on the latest surrounding Bill Belichick.
“He’s a coaching free agent and the one meeting that we’ve known he has taken so far is with the Atlanta Falcons,” Adam Schefter said. “And what we know about the Falcons is the Falcons’ owner, Arthur Blank, has taken multiple repeated big swings at high profile coaches and never really landed one. He tried to hire Nick Saban a few different times. He tried to hire Joe Gibbs… tried to hire Bill Parcells… tried to hire a lot of decorated coaches. None is more decorated than Bill Belichick, who he’s already met with.”
There is still time for change, as Schefter noted by bringing up Philadelphia. However, for now, it’s clear that Atlanta is interested in Belichick, and with the information currently in hand, that makes the Falcons seem like his current landing spot.
“So, that to me would seem to be the team that seems most interested in Bill Belichick, unless there’s a job like the Eagles that opens and we’re still waiting to hear and there’s nothing there yet. So, Bill’s a coaching free agent. He headlines the list. Atlanta is the one team we know is in play.”
On3’s Dan Morrison contributed to this report.