Past Due Bill: Patriots Ex Belichick No Longer ‘Front Runner’ for Head Coach Jobs?
The prowess of New England Patriots legend Bill Belichick as an NFL head coach requires no embellishment.
However, it may not be enough to land him a coaching job for the upcoming season.
Since agreeing to “mutually and amicably” part ways with the Patriots, the former “HC of the NEP” has interviewed only with the Atlanta Falcons. Despite having met with Atlanta’s brain trust twice, arguably the greatest coach to ever stalk an NFL sideline was essentially passed over in favor of Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris — who is reportedly set to take the position.
In fact, Belichick was no longer even considered the “front runner” among the 14 candidates the Falcons interviewed for their vacancy, per a Thursday morning ESPN report. He also hasn't interviewed with the only two remaining teams with a head coaching vacancy - Seahawks and Commanders.
Cred: USA Today Images
“We’re in a situation where the only team that has an opening — and the only one of the eight that had a vacancy during this hiring cycle — that interviewed Bill Belichick was the Atlanta Falcons,” NFL Insider Adam Schefter said on ESPN’s Get Up “Since then, the Falcons have paraded through a series of candidates for second interviews and other interviews and scheduled more and more talks with other candidates. That doesn’t sound like a team that’s ready to make a move on Bill Belichick.”
Sure enough, Atlanta made the move on Morris, instead.
For nearly a quarter-century, New England’s head coach has been one of the most successful at his position in this, or any sport. After all, few, if any, have ever enjoyed the level of success Belichick has while at the Patriots helm. Six Super Bowl championships, three AP Coach of the Year awards, and nine conference titles are just some of the accolades which Belichick has collected during his time on the sidelines.
Accordingly, Belichick’s eventual enshrinement in Canton became a mere formality long ago.
Still, the sustained success with which he guided the Patriots over the past two-plus decades appears to have been conveniently forgotten — or perhaps egregiously overlooked — in the recent running of the NFL coaching carousel.
Instead, the era of short-term memory supremacy, served with a side of social media smear, has seemingly devalued Belichick’s worth on the open market — even with an Atlanta team yet to win even one (let alone) six league championships. The image of Belichick as a brilliant tactician, who maximized talent greater than any of his peers or predecessors has faded with the summer wind gusts of his beloved Nantucket home — replaced by that of a struggling coach both past his prime and indifferent to adapt with the league’s changing landscape.
Could that have swayed the Falcons sentiments?
“In this particular case, the Falcons described to me over the weekend that their coaching search after they met with Belichick for a second time is ‘wide open,’ Schefter added. “So, if it’s wide open after you’ve met with Bill Belichick twice, that certainly tells you that he’s not the favorite for the job.”
Of course, Belichick is certainly not without blame for his current employment status. Following a 4-13 finish - Belichick’s worst season in New England - the 71-year-old’s future as Patriots coach and de facto general manager became precarious, at best. New England missed the playoffs for the third time in the last four seasons. Rumors of in-fighting within his coaching staff, as well as questionable in-game decision-making, nearly unraveled the Belichickian mystique before season’s end.
Additionally, the Patriots have finished last in the AFC East for the first time since Belichick’s first season as head coach in 2000. Their final effort in 2023 ended in a listless 17-3 loss to the New York Jets under snowy skies at Gillette Stadium in Week 18 — ultimately, costing Belichick his job. The Patriots officially hired former inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo as the 15th head coach in franchise history just one day after officially parting ways with Belichick.
While the market for Belichick’s services was not expected to be excessively robust, its barrenness has come as somewhat of a surprise. As teams such as the Los Angeles Chargers (Jim Harbaugh,) Las Vegas Raiders (Antonio Pierce,) Tennessee Titans (Brian Callahan) and Carolina Panthers (Dave Canales) fill their vacancies, only the Washington Commanders and Seattle Seahawks are still looking for new head coaches.
Though the Commanders and Seahawks have interviewed candidates, neither is expected to make a hire before this weekend's conference championship games.
As a result, Schefter said there’s a “real possibility” that Belichick leaves this offseason without a head coaching job — noting concerns regarding his age, recent success and preferences for organizational structure.
“I think teams are worried about maybe his age, about his lack of success in New England recently about what he would want to do to that organization,” Schefter said. “But he’s still Bill Belichick, and to me, you put them on a team and that team is off to the races going in the right direction, but that’s not the way the teams in this cycle are viewing it the same way that we are right now.”
The only question remaining is whether these teams will regret not hiring Bill Belichick when they had the chance.
