When Bill Belichick announced he would leave the New England Patriots, the first question everyone made was what would be his next team. However, as the weeks go by, many wonder whether he’ll find a new landing spot at all.
The Atlanta Falcons seemed to be in pole position to hire Belichick as they interviewed the six-time Super Bowl champion twice. But NFL insider Adam Schefter of ESPN, warned that the team would keep its options wide open.
“The Falcons have shown that they are interested in a lot of people and in their own words, they described to me over the weekend that their coaching search after they met with Belichick for a second time is ‘wide open’. 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,” Schefter said.
Later on Thursday, Schefter reported the Falcons are planning to hire Los Angeles Rams’ defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, who already served as interim head coach for Atlanta in 2020, as their new head coach. That leaves Belichick with even less options.
Belichick may not get a new head coaching job at all
With one of the best résumés a coach in any sport can boast, Belichick was expected to have countless offers on the table as soon as he left New England. But many teams have already filled their vacancies, which is why Schefter believes Belichick may ultimately not land a new head coaching job for 2024.
“Here we have the greatest coach of all time sitting there with a lack of interest, which boggles my mind,” said Schefter. “There’s the real possibility that he’s not going to get any of these head coaching jobs.”
When the Patriots parted with Belichick, there seemed to be enough openings in the league for him to end up with another franchise soon. But now, only the Commanders, and Seahawks are still looking for a new head coach.
It’s still a bit soon to say Belichick has ran out of options, but the market is definitely not as big as a few weeks ago. Only time will tell whether the most successful coach of all time is back next year.