Insider addresses why Bill Belichick remains available

NFL and New England Patriots insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated addressed in a mailbag published on Wednesday why former Patriots head coach Bill Belichick remains available and thus far has only officially been interviewed by the Atlanta Falcons this offseason. 

"Teams would love to have Belichick as a coach," Breer explained about what he previously heard, "but the trouble could be if landing him required a lot more than that. Would another team hand him control over the roster after how the Patriots have sputtered post–Tom Brady? Would an ownership group pledge to hand the keys to the coach, and stay out of the way? These are the sorts of questions that could shift market conditions."

It was reported back in December when it was clear Belichick's Patriots would miss the playoffs for a third time in four years that team owner Robert Kraft could retain the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach but ask him to work with an executive tasked with making personnel decisions. 

Belichick hinted following Week 18 that he'd welcome such an arrangement, but Kraft later said that type of situation "wouldn't work" for either the 71-year-old coach or the organization.

On Tuesday, Josh Kendall of The Athletic reported that "Belichick’s candidacy for the Falcons' head coaching job has cooled in the past week." That hasn't stopped certain NFL personnel from linking Belichick with Atlanta. 

"I think, to be clear, Falcons owner Arthur Blank wanted Belichick from the jump," Breer continued. "What’s less clear is where the rest of the organization stood on the idea of hiring a guy who could make changes to staff and structure. And that’s where those big-picture questions come into play. It’s not hard to see where some turf protecting could be happening, which, again, goes right back to the nuance that was always going to exist with Belichick’s market."

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wrote this past weekend that "multiple teams" other than the Falcons were "quietly considering a potential run at Belichick." 

Until those teams do more than think about picking up the phone, some within league circles will continue to suggest that Belichick may need to spend a season away from coaching to eventually land a job he truly wants.