'Never About Power!' Arthur Blank Reveals Why Falcons Hired Raheem Morris Over Bill Belichick
No candidate entered the 2024 hiring cycle with a better resumé than former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. The last few seasons have rendered him mortal, but it was no surprise to see the Atlanta Falcons have him headline their extensive list of interviews.
Belichick would interview twice with the Falcons but ultimately didn’t get the job. Instead, former Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris was given (back) the reins to a franchise in need of a new direction.
The Morris hire was widely supported, but the news all but solidified that Belichick won’t have a head coaching job for the first time this century. Atlanta owner Arthur Blank gave his testimony in support of the future Hall of Famer during the Super Bowl’s week-long festivities.
Raheem Morris and Bill Belichick were two of four candidates who received second interviews with the Atlanta Falcons.
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Perhaps the biggest red flag attached to Belichick was his role as the de facto general manager in New England. No one doubts his football acumen and the merits of his performance on the sideline, but the Patriots fell victim to a crumbling roster that was unable to re-tool after losing quarterback Tom Brady. Wanting that same unilateral control could have set back his candidacy.
“No, not at all,” Blank said regarding that concern on NFL Network. “I want to be clear, really on behalf of Bill as a human being and as a storied coach in the history of our league … Bill, during all of our discussions with him, was never about power, control, needing people to work with him, etc. He’s interested in coaching, he definitely wanted a collaborative relationship with personnel and scouting.
“He had done his reference checking on our department and committed to me that he’d be happy to work with our people. In fact, he backed it in writing.”
Hiring Belichick in the twilight of his career would have accelerated Atlanta’s competitive window, for better or worse. Most anticipated a free-agent quarterback of some kind would play under Belichick, rather than a spry rookie whose best football could be years ahead of him.
In choosing Morris, Atlanta keeps the door open to find a young quarterback or free agent, rather than pigeonholing themselves.
There were also concerns about Belichick bringing New England retreads with him to fill out his coaching staff. While Blank noted that wasn’t proven to be true in their interviews, Morris’ staff – headlined by offensive coordinator Zac Robinson – is highly touted.
“We looked at all the candidates that we interviewed, all the time together, and we felt for a variety of reasons that the best choice for us, at this point in our lives, in the life of the franchise going forward, was Raheem Morris,” Blank said.
“But I would say, Bill, he’s a very useful 71, I think he wants to coach again and I’d be shocked if he’s not a coach again in the National Football League.”
If his interviews went as swimmingly as Blank suggests, the legendary coach should have no shortage of opportunities after the 2024 season.
For now, the Falcons are focused on surrounding Morris with the talent he needs, both on and off the field, to thrive in the next era of Atlanta football.
