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During the offseason, the Atlanta Falcons were the franchise that seemed to have the most interest in landing Hall of Fame head coach Bill Belichick. Ultimately, however, they passed on the six-time Super Bowl champion in favor of Raheem Morris.
Now, a new report from ESPN has revealed that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was a “big part” of why the team opted not to hire Belichick as he reportedly told Falcons owner Arthur Blank “not to trust” Belichick.
“Blank spoke by phone, at least twice, to Robert Kraft… in a conversation with Blank, Kraft delivered a stark assessment of Belichick’s character, according to a source who spoke to two people: a close Kraft friend and a longtime Belichick confidant.”
“The source quoted the Belichick source as saying, ‘Robert called Arthur to warn him not to trust Bill.’ That account was backed up, the source said, by the close Kraft friend.” [via ESPN]
The report also adds that Kraft told Blank, with “some cador” that he’ll “never have a warm conversation” with Belichick, which is something that rubbed against Blank as he “likes coaches who feel part of a family.”
Not only did the Falcons opt not to hire Belichick, but so did all of the other franchises with head coach openings, leaving Belichick out of the league for the 2024 season. Even the Washington Commanders passed on Belichick, instead deciding to hire former Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn.
Given the precarious status of Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, many believe Belichick could end up in the Big D with Jerry Jones should he decide to fire McCarthy. There’s also the possibility of the Philadelphia Eagles if things go south for Nick Sirianni this year.
With Belichick spending the season out of the game, however, it’ll be interesting to see he has the same desire to continue coaching after a year of retirement.