Cowboys - 'Mystery Team!' - Were Never Going To Hire Belichick; Will Anybody?
FRISCO - Bill Belichick, according to his national media water-carriers, was "a hot candidate'' who would be the target of a "bidding war'' and who was surely destined to be hired by a "mystery team!'' ...
That mystery team being the Dallas Cowboys.
It was all baloney, of course, tweets and stories and broadcasts about Belichick's irresistible talents in the end having zero impact on what the haughty and gaudy Cowboys would do ...
And even having zero impact on one of the NFL's relative have-nots, the Atlanta Falcons.
Clutchpoints
On Thursday the Falcons closed the deal to hire Raheem Morris, the highly-regarded Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator, as their head coach. They did so in the face of a three-month avalanche of reports that insisted that Bill would be so coveted (by the Cowboys and others) that lowly Atlanta would never even have a crack at him.
Lowly Atlanta interviewed him twice. Then interviewed about 14 other guys. Then started realizing that not only was Belichick not "hot'' - nobody else did or has interviewed the fallen Patriots legend - but that he wanted power in the building the Falcons didn't want to give. That he wanted to hire cronies that haven't proven in recent years they're good at their jobs. That he was even willing to puppeteer an insult of sorts of Atlanta with the idea that he'd settle for that job because he preferred an "underachieving'' and "small-market'' team.
What happened to the "mystery teams''? It's no mystery. They never existed.
Belichick is 71. His Patriots program has been lousy for almost five years. He finished last season with a 4-13 record. There is no evidence that the "culture'' there was positive.
And the Falcons know that Tom Brady ain't walkin' through that Mercedes-Benz Stadium door.
Because that sounds ridiculous, we assume it's false. Belichick led the Patriots to six Super Bowl victories, nine AFC championships, 17 AFC East titles, and 296 combined regular season and playoff wins and now suddenly he's scared of their being too many reporters at a press conference?
Raheem Morris 'Killed' Falcons Interview, Says Insider
Is Raheem Morris a "better'' coach than Bill Belichick?History will let us know, though right now that seems a stretch.
Is Is Raheem Morris a "better'' coach than Bill Belichick for this time and place and town and team?
lost his fastball? Or have the Atlanta Falcons lost their minds?
On Thursday the Falcons closed the deal to hire Raheem Morris, the highly-regarded Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator, as their head coach. And there is nothing "wrong'' with that ...
Except that how can Raheem Morris be "better'' than the legendary New England Patriots head coach?
In the coming hours we are sure to learn more about the inner-workings not only of the Morris hire - the Falcons will be excited to share those glorious details. But there is a nasty underbelly in here somewhere, too.
Did Belichick want too much power - all the power - causing owner Arthur Blank to listen to team higher-ups (CEO Rich McKay) who were bending his ear about wanting to do their jobs (or, if you are a cynic) protect their desks?
The world is about to discover that is true. Belichick surely assumed he could throw his weight around here.
Did Belichick media sycophants create a "hot market'' for him that never really existed? He has so far only interviewed with the Falcons and did so twice. Where are all the other "bidders''? Where are the teams that the national media promised where "enamored of him''? Where are all the "mystery teams'' who were going to hire him, like the Dallas Cowboys - who never even called him?
The world is about to discover that it is true that the Falcons reevaluated the landscape - next thing you know they interviewed a whopping 14 guys - and saw a "not-hot'' candidate in ol' Bill.
What if the fact that Belichick is 71 and has spent the last half-decade as the unilateral decision-maker in charge of a crappy Patriots program - he was arguably exposed without Tom Brady, missing the playoffs three of the last four years and finishing last season with a 4-13 record - was finally broached by Blank and his crew?
And that this idea of Belichick "automatically changing the culture'' in Atlanta sounded great ... but left the Falcons wondering about the last four years of "culture'' in losing Foxboro?
We've been writing for weeks that Dallas (with Jerry Jones opting to retain Mike McCarthy) gave us no reason to believe the Cowboys were the "mystery team'' so ballyhooed by the press. And now we know that not even the Falcons want him Bill Belichick.
And as to the reasons why not? That is really no "mystery'' at all.
