Mark Schlereth explains reason for potential hold-up between NFL teams and Bill Belichick

A Belichick-Atlanta pairing appeared to be inevitable after the former legendary New England Patriots head coach had two interviews with the franchise, with one exclusively with Arthur Blank, the owner of the team. Now, the Falcons are fielding second interviews for multiple candidates. But what’s with the change of heart in Atlanta? According to former three-time Super Bowl champ turned NFL analyst Mark Schlereth, it has more to do with ‘who’ the Falcons are truly after.

“I think most owners want a young offensive guy that has had great success with quarterbacks,” said Schlereth. “So that’s Ben Johnson out of Detroit, Bobby Slowik out of Houston; they want those young offensive coaches. They want somebody they feel like they develop a quarterback. So I think that’s really what you’re looking at.”

Clearly, Belichick, who is renowned for his strategic defensive mind, does not fit that mold, especially with his age being north of the 70-year line. So, if not Belichick, then who? According to Schlereth, Atlanta is eyeing an offensive coordinator working championship weekend to help unlock the untapped potential of quarterback Desmond Ritter.

“When you look at Atlanta, they are ready-made. That is a really good roster. The issue is a young quarterback who has struggled, who’s been inconsistent in Desmond Ritter. So I wonder if they really want to go out for that young offensive guru or genius type of guy. And the fact that they keep holding off, and they keep interviewing guys, and holding off, and interviewing guys makes me feel like they’re kind of waiting for Ben Johnson to be available and go in that direction. But you know, again, your guess is as good as mine, but I would assume that it has to do a lot with nobody. Really, most people want to focus on the offensive side of the ball in the National Football League.”

Johnson’s name was on a handful of list for head coaching availabilities last season. But given how the Lions’ offense has performed under him this year, it is more than understandable why Atlanta would believe he is worth the wait.

Falcons’ pursuit of Bill Belichick has reportedly ‘lost momentum’

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.”