The NFL’s head coaching hiring cycle is nearing its end, leaving a quarter of the league’s teams vacant. The Raiders have given Antonio Pierce a full-time gig. The Chargers sent Jim Harbaugh back to the NFL. The Titans hired Brian Callahan as naturally as ever. Jerod Mayo stepped in to fill in for the Patriots. Two other jobs were filled Thursday as Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales took the Carolina job and Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris was hired by the Falcons.
There are two vacancies: captain and sailor. Looks like nobody wants to hire Bill Belichick. Barring a last-minute change of course to Seattle or Washington, the eight-time Super Bowl-winning coach has gone 0-for-1 this recruiting season. The Falcons are the only team available to interview him.It’s hard to imagine the NFL without Belichick. When Patriots owner Robert Kraft talked about his decision to move on from Belichick earlier this month, he was thinking about Belichick retiring at some point in 2024.
Kraft said he didn’t even try to replace him on Belichick because the coach deserves it. Option to select the following location: However, Belichick appears to have lost his job in New England and has since received the “anti-Gretchen Wieners” treatment from the rest of the league. Belichick is close to securing a job in Atlanta. He was considered a favorite by owner Arthur Blank, who held a one-on-one interview with Belichick for a job on his yacht in the Virgin Islands, but ran into obstacles winning over team CEO Rich McKay.
Most recently, Falcons coaches and general managers reported directly to McKay. Considering Belichick’s first interview was just Blank and Blank, Belichick might want something different. (In a statement announcing Morris’ hiring Thursday night, the team said McKay will no longer oversee football operations.)McKay is the chairman of the league’s competition committee, which has at times put him at odds with Belichick over rule changes.
Looks like Atlanta had a tough decision to make. In a report this week, Blank was described as “anxious” and “completely disorganized” in taking the right steps. Who knows what Belichick is asking for in terms of salary or control and if it’s reasonable? Maybe he just wanted a good parking spot. Maybe he wanted to make Matt Patricia his offensive coordinator. Either way, the Falcons finally seemed to think they were giving up too much.
There may be other teams that would love to have Belichick. Belichick can still coach the defense, but he refused to build the kind of infrastructure he enjoyed in New England, where he ran the state. You may have employees who are solely responsible for your property and surrounded by a full circle of loyal friends and family.If Belichick finds himself taking on the unexpected task of providing color commentary on the Army and Navy broadcasts next fall, it won’t be his only pushback.
This is also an indictment of Team No Thanks. Not hiring Belichick is one thing, but seven teams had the opportunity to invite him in for an interview and ask Bill Belichick what he wanted to do to fix his team, but they clearly declined the opportunity. He is truly a person with a vision.But it happened. If Belichick really can’t get the job this cycle, he could take a year off, do whatever he wants in and out of football and try again next year, but there’s no reason to think they’ll change many.
Another situation arises. The Ornament Group probably won’t draft any more of him than this year’s group.Teams don’t often take risks to their detriment, and based on most of the recruiting so far this cycle, owners seem to prefer to do the usual thing and secure young starters on the offensive side of the ball. Instead of a big splash. (Even former Titans coach Mike Vrabel can’t have a seat in this year’s head coaching musical chairs game.)
Hiring Belichick when he’s a year older and a year removed from the game is riskier and easier to criticize. The most interesting angle of this coaching cycle has always been the opportunity to see what the league’s powerbrokers think of the other heavyweight coaches interviewed by Belichick. “Dave Canales and Brian Callahan. “Bill Belichick, no” was not what I expected.