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Former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason continues to claim that the Atlanta Falcons job was Bill Belichick’s to lose. After all but guaranteeing the former Patriots head coach would land the gig, he now says Belichick turned the Falcons down.
The role opened up when Atlanta parted ways with Arthur Smith after the 2023 season came to a close. It was one of a number of openings to become available this offseason.
One included the Patriots, who moved on from the organization’s winningest coach in Bill Belichick after a disappointing season. While some believed he’d walk off into the sunset, calling it a career in the NFL, most speculated that he’d stick around for another opportunity.
Not interested in dealing with media in a big market, his options were somewhat limited.
The Commanders and Giants gained some steam, but the overwhelming majority thought the Falcons would be the ultimate landing spot.
Belichick interviewed with Arthur Blank in the most baller way imaginable, but when the interview process wrapped up, Atlanta seemed to move in a different direction.
But who moved on from who is now up for debate.
Boomer Esiason was one of those media members claiming that Belichick to the Falcons was a ‘done deal.’
“Definitely going to happen,” was the phrase used to describe the head coach’s future in Atlanta.
“Everything I’ve read out of Atlanta is that everything went smoothly… I think it’s just a matter of time before this thing gets announced.”
Of course, that didn’t happen as the Falcons signed a deal to make Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris the next head coach.
Esiason doubled down on his opinion that the job was Belichick’s for the taking on Monday, however, now saying that he turned the role down.
Boomer Esiason was told by an NFL executive that the Falcons offered Bill Belichick the head coach job, and Bill turned them down. pic.twitter.com/gCt2XurMt8
— Funhouse (@BackAftaThis) February 5, 2024
“Supposedly, Arthur Blank was bought into Bill Belichick and could’ve offered him the job,” Esiason said on his Boomer and Gio show. “I don’t know why guys say no, but legitimately an NFL exec basically told me that they believe that Arthur Blank offered Bill the job.
“Now, there may have been some caveats to that offer… The way it was made and sounded to me was like, ‘Ok, I understand your concerns, but you’re going to have to deal with some of this and we want you to come in, we want you to be the coach,’ and then maybe he just thought better of it.”
That lines up somewhat with what NFL insider Dan Graziano said after Morris landed the gig. Graziano claimed that Atlanta didn’t want to give Belichick too much power within the organization.
He also stated that the team saw Belichick as a “short-term play” due to age.
What Graziano didn’t do was say he was offered or that he turned down the opening. Rather, he suggested that it was Atlanta who didn’t wish to cede to his terms.
It’s now turned into a game of he-said, she-said, though it won’t change the fact that Bill Belichick is out of an NFL job this season.