The Atlanta Falcons surprised many when they opted against hiring Bill Belichick as their new head coach, potentially even including Belichick himself.
In an appearance on NBC Sports Boston, Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal suggested that Belichick was fuming over the Falcons’ decision to hire Raheem Morris over him. Bedard even added that he questioned whether Belichick’s departure from the New England Patriots would have gone as smoothly as it did if Belichick did not expect to land the Atlanta job.
“I think that Bill Belichick thought he at least had a really good shot at this job, even before he exited the Patriots, and I think it’s one of the reasons why things went so smoothly,” Bedard said. “I just wonder, if Bill had more of an indefinite future, if he didn’t have something in his back pocket, would things have gone so smoothly? Would the meetings have gone on for days? Would there have been more of a back-and-forth between Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick?
“I think Bill thought he had the Falcons in his back pocket. (Falcons owner) Arthur Blank, I know, wanted to hire Bill certainly early in the process, and then it got away from him because Arthur Blank’s one of these guys who listens to everybody.”
Bedard said he thought Belichick is “p-ssed” at not getting the job, and would not forget being passed over.
“I think he’s p-ssed. I think he’s really upset about this. I think that he had this job,” Bedard said. “I really, really hope Bill Belichick lands in the NFC South with his next job, if he gets a next job, because I would like to see what he does to the Falcons each time he plays them.”
Considering Belichick’s long-standing antipathy toward the New York Jets, it is entirely plausible he could try to stick it to the Falcons in the future if he really does feel this way. Admittedly, he would need the opportunity to come his way first.
There has been speculation that Belichick’s desire for significant control played a role in him not getting the Atlanta job. Whether that is true or not, it does seem clear that Belichick felt he had the Atlanta job, only for it not to work out that way. Perhaps he would have been more aggressive about setting up a backup plan instead of finding himself in the situation he appears to be in now.
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