Falcons owner Arthur Blank wanted to hire Bill Belichick?

Bill Belichick was at one point viewed as the favorite to become the new head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, and that may have happened if team owner Arthur Blank made the final call.

Belichick met with Blank multiple times before the Falcons hired Raheem Morris as head coach. There was even a report last month that Blank “desperately” wanted to hire Belichick. That has raised the question of why Atlanta opted against bringing in arguably the greatest coach of all time.

In an episode of “The Athletic Football Show” podcast that was released on Monday, Dianna Russini said Blank wined and dined Belichick but that the owner ultimately listened to CEO Rich McKay and some others within the Falcons organization.

“I don’t think Arthur Blank had an ego in all of this. I think he listened to the people around him — people like Rich McKay, who really wanted Raheem Morris to be the head coach,” Russini said. “That’s where (McKay’s) support was from the start. They allowed Arthur Blank to spend time with Bill Belichick. Belichick went on his yacht. They had a conversation, and he also flew Belichick on his private jet into Atlanta to his home.

“I truly believe if he was not influenced and if Arthur Blank was not listening to others in his building, he would have probably hired Bill Belichick. But the voices of others that he trusts and believe in told him that Raheem Morris is the guy.”

The Falcons likely had the same concern as some other teams had during the recent hiring cycle. Belichick served as de-facto general manager with the New England Patriots for years. He probably will want roster control with his next team, if there is one. Some with Atlanta reportedly had concerns about what the power structure would look like if the team hired Belichick.

If Blank wanted to, he could have vetoed everyone and allowed Belichick to come in and clean house. He chose to listen to his football people instead, which is not something every owner would do.