Bill Belichick passed over by Atlanta Falcons for head coach post
Bill Belichick head coach of the New England Patriots during the trophy ceremony for Super Bowl 51 at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images)
ATLANTA - The Atlanta Falcons have made their choice, and it’s not six-time Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick.
The former New England Patriots head coach was one of the 14 candidates for Atlanta’s top coaching post, but ultimately, the gig went to Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.
Both Belichick and Morris were called back for second interviews. Earlier Thursday, the team conducted a second interview with Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. In the end, the Falcons decided to go with an experienced coach who has been in the league all but one season going back to 2002, including a stint in Atlanta from 2015-2020.
The hiring of Morris came as something of a surprise, given the team’s clear interest in a coach of Belichick’s stature and its interviews with several youthful assistants, including Slowik, who were considered rising stars.
SEE MORE: ATLANTA FALCONS ANNOUNCE RAHEEM MORRIS AS HEAD COACH
It will be especially interesting to see how the new coach is viewed by a fan base that had grown increasingly apathetic in the midst of six straight losing seasons and the Falcons’ failure to produce a Super Bowl title over their 58-year history.
The Falcons seemed to be closing in on Belichick as their next coach after he flew into Atlanta on one of team owner Arthur Blank’s private jets for a second interview last Friday.
But it wasn’t clear how he might mesh with Falcons General Manager Terry Fontenot, who the Falcons decided to keep after dumping Arthur Smith.
Blank insisted right from the start that Fontenot would retain in charge of personnel matters. That would have been a big change for Belichick, who had total control over all football-related matters during his tenure in New England.
But, while speculation about Belichick swirled, the Falcons made it clear they were considering a large group of candidates that also included former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, who wound up taking an offer from the Los Angeles Chargers, and ex-Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel.
SEE MORE: RAHEEM MORRIS MAKES HISTORY AS FIRST BLACK HEAD COACH OF THE ATLANTA FALCONS
Super Bowl LI is still a sore spot with many of the Dirty Bird faithful, so it might be a relief that the Falcons passed on the man across the field during that fateful game in the last 25 years.
Ironically, Morris, who helped the Falcons get to that big game, was the bigger winner over Belichick on Thursday.
Falcons fans react to Belichick snub
The pick came as a big surprise to even some of the most die-hard Falcons fans, with many believing Belichick had all but taken the top post.
"I’m ride or die, I’m ride or die. I hope for the best, I was just hoping that we would have a proven coach," said TL Richardson, a life-long Falcons fan.
He echoed many in his reaction to Morris’ employment, especially after more than a dozen names had been tossed around.
"I thought, I thought it was a done deal, I thought Belichick was in," said Mike Skaff.
"I’m a little surprised that they didn’t go with more of a proven name like Belichick," said Richardson.
"I kind of was hoping for a Belichick because I want to see him win something without Tom Brady," said Dante Hill.