Getty Image / Adam Glanzman
The Atlanta Falcons and their owner, Arthur Blank are looking for the head coach that will lead the team to their first Super Bowl title of all time. But, it seems like the search could be taking a new direction after the team interviewed former Tennessee Titans Head Coach Mike Vrabel.
The interview took place on Wednesday, the Falcons announced.
The Atlanta Falcons completed an in-person interview with Mike Vrabel for the organization’s head coach position, the team announced Wednesday, Jan. 24.
This is Vrabel’s first interview with the Falcons for their current opening.
The 48-year-old was fired by the Tennessee Titans after six seasons as their head coach back on Jan. 9. The Titans officially hired a new head coach in Brian Callahan on Wednesday. The Falcons had actually interviewed Callahan on Jan. 13 for their own vacancy and reportedly scheduled a second meeting before news of his agreement with the Titans broke Monday.
Vrabel marks the 14th candidate to have completed an initial interview with the Falcons. Three of those have completed a second interview as of Wednesday.
First off, interviewing fourteen different candidates for a head coaching job is insane. How do you need to talk to fourteen different coaches for one job.
Make no mistake, though, Mike Vrabel is a strong candidate. The former NFL star linebacker did a nice job as the Tennessee Titans coach for the last six years, going 54-45 and making the playoffs three times, reaching the AFC Championship Game in just his second season in 2019.
But, back-to-back losing seasons in Tennessee made the Titans move on. While it was probably time to go their separate ways, someone is going to go get a good head coach. That could potentially be the Falcons.
But, the big news, in my opinion, is that this means the team is in no way settled on former New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick, despite the team interviewing the legend and six-time Super Bowl Champion multiple times.
To me, Bill Belichick is the type of guy where if you think you want to hire him, you might not need to interview 13 other coaches. Either you’re enamored with the idea of Bill Belichick and not discouraged by his age or stubbornness, or you think the juice isn’t worth the squeeze when it comes to hiring him.
Considering that, this seems like a clear sign to me that they are not going to hire Bill Belichick. Who knows, I could look pretty dumb in the next few days, but this is the way things are heading.