Getty Image / Al Bello
With the hiring of Raheem Morris (Atlanta Falcons), it appears as if future Hall of Famer Bill Belichick will not fill any of the NFL head coaching vacancies. And one NFL insider, former Miami Dolphins EVP and Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum, believes Bill Belichick’s continuing free agency puts more pressure on Giants head coach Brian Daboll than anyone else in the league.
Since taking over as HC of the Giants in 2022, Brian Daboll has gone 15-18-1. As an assistant coach, Daboll won five Super Bowls under Bill Belichick with the New England Patriots. And according to Tannenbaum, it is now Bill Belichick’s mere existence that is turning up the heat on Daboll’s job.
On ESPN’s Get Up, Mike Tannenbaum said “The biggest shadow he is going to cast is in East Rutherford, New Jersey. He has a great relationship with the Mara family. The first time the Giants lose a game, Brian Daboll… whether it’s fair or unfair… is going to have to answer that question every press conference.”
This came after fellow NFL insider Adam Schefter discussed how Bill Belichick’s free agency will loom over every new coaching hire in the 2024-25 NFL season:
With every loss next season by the freshman head coaches there will be speculation of whether or not Bill Belichick could’ve produced better results and frankly, the answer will probably be ‘yes’.
Of course, hiring Bill Belichick isn’t as simple as saying ‘Bill, we’ll pay you whatever you want’ and drafting up the contract.
On Thursday night, the reasons the Atlanta Falcons hired Raheem Morris over Bill Belichick were revealed by ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano.
He said “multiple sources have said for weeks that Blank went into this process wanting Belichick, and I think the league and the industry expected that to work out. But there were hurdles that couldn’t be cleared. The organizational structure in Atlanta involves Blank and CEO Rich McKay, and a lot of the discussions with Belichick centered on the idea of what McKay’s role would be if Belichick came to coach the team — and how much power and control the various parties would have in the end.”
Furthermore, because Bill Belichick is 71-years-old the Falcons saw him as a “short term play” to get his 15 NFL wins to pass Don Shula’s all-time NFL wins record and not as a coach who would be with the organization for the long-term.
What organizations are failing to recognize, it seems, is how Bill Belichick’s presence will make every single person in the organization better at their job. The same happened when Tom Brady joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Even if Belichick joins an organization to get 15+ wins and break records his impact on performance will last. Just like the Buccaneers have remained competitive without Brady.
Brian Daboll’s contract with the New York Giants was for 5-years. Should Daboll be fired this season he will still be paid for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. Things could get costly for the Giants should they opt to go for Belichick mid-season but that’s all speculation as of now.