FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons’ search to replace former coach Arthur Smith is in full gear.
They have made requests to interview at least six candidates and are targeting former New England coach Bill Belichick, who stepped away from the Patriots on Thursday after 24 years in the saddle.
The Falcons just had a search in 2021 and interviewed seven candidates before settling on Smith, who was one of the hot offensive coordinators at the time.
In addition to Smith, the Falcons held virtual head-coach interviews with six other candidates with the country on the verge of coming out of COVID-19 restrictions.
When looking for Dan Quinn’s successor, the Falcons interviewed Smith, former interim coach Raheem Morris, then-Kansas City offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, then-San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, then-Carolina coordinator Joe Brady, then-Green Bay offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett and then-Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.
Morris landed with the Rams as their defensive coordinator. He went on to help the Rams defeat the Bengals in Super Bowl LVI on Feb. 13, 2022. His defense is back in the playoffs this season.
It was Morris’ second Super Bowl ring, as he was a defensive quality-control assistant on Tampa Bay’s staff during the 2002 season. The Bucs destroyed the Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII.
Morris has head coaching experience. He was the Bucs’ head coach from 2009-11 and posted a 17-31 record. He was named the Falcons’ interim coach after Quinn was fired and finished 4-7.
Since the last round of interviews, Bienemy has won a Super Bowl with the Chiefs, but because he felt he needed to call plays, he left to take the offensive coordinator’s spot with Washington. He was their coordinator this season, when the Commanders were 4-13.
The Commanders posted a 24-16 win over the Falcons on Oct. 15. Bieniemy caught the Falcons sleeping with a nice screen play that led to a 24-yard touchdown by Brian Robinson and a 24-10 lead late in the third quarter.
Saleh became the coach of the Jets. He has posted a 17-31 record, including back-to-back 7-10 seasons. The Jets have fielded a solid defense and made a big trade for Aaron Rodgers last offseason.
After the 2021 season, Brady became the Bills’ quarterback coach. He took over the play-calling during the season, and the Bills made a late-season push to claim their third consecutive AFC East title.
Hackett went to Denver as the Broncos coach in 2022, but lasted one season. The Broncos were hoping to get Hackett and Rodgers, but ended up trading for Russell Wilson and then granting him a lavish extension.
Hackett is with the Jets and was reunited with Rodgers.
Bowles, who started his coaching career at Morehouse in 1997, became the Bucs’ head coach in 2022. He was credited with helping the Bucs win Super Bowl LV over the Chiefs. He has guided the Bucs to a 17-17 record and back-to-back NFC South titles.
This time around the Falcons have requested permission to interview Morris, San Francisco defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, Baltimore associate head coach/defensive line coach Anthony Weaver, Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, according to league-owned NFL Media.
The Falcons also are set to interview Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, according to his representation. He also has three other interviews. The team also requested an interview with Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, according to Bleacher Report, and Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, according to Sports Illustrated.
While owner Arthur Blank said there was no timetable for the search, the team must move swiftly with six other teams – the Chargers, Panthers, Raiders, Commanders, Titans and Seahawks – looking for coaches.
The Falcons don’t plan to comment during the search, but will announce candidates after they complete interviews with the team.
“At the end of the day, I understand the final decision will be mine, but mine will be in collaboration with others,” Blank said. “Like I said initially, we’ve kind of begun the process if you will.”
Traditionally in the NFL, the owner hires a general manager, who then picks the coach. Several teams, including the Falcons, have moved away from the traditional model, with the owner playing more of a role.
For instance, in the 1990s, Bob Harlan was the chairman of the Packers. He picked Ron Wolf as the general manager. Wolf then picked Mike Holmgren as the head coach.
General manager Terry Fontenot, who reports to the team’s CEO Rich McKay, was not on hand to discuss Smith’s firing or his role in the search. The Falcons said that Fontenot will have input.
The thinking within the organization is that it was better for McKay and Blank to address the media since they fired Smith. Fontenot is set to speak later this month at the Senior Bowl, where he’ll undoubtedly scout the quarterbacks.
“Terry was aware of the process we were going through,” Blank said. “We sought out Terry’s opinion, the opinion of other senior people in our organization as well. He’s done an excellent job as our general manager. Our drafts 2021 through ’23 – ‘21, ‘22, ‘23 have been good. Some better than others.”
The 2021 draft is looking a bit shaky after three years. Instead of drafting Kyle Pitts fourth overall, the Falcons could have better addressed their quarterback situation by taking Justin Fields. They also could have taken offensive tackle Penei Sewell, wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase or edge rusher Micah Parsons. Pitts had a dynamic rookie season with Matt Ryan throwing to him, but was not much of a factor over the past two seasons.
Second-round pick Richie Grant was regularly beaten in coverage last season, and third-round pick Jalen Mayfield was released from the team.
Blank seemed to be more pleased with the free-agency moves.
“Certainly in free agency, the investments that we made this year on the pro side of the ball, have been outstanding, in my view,” Blank said. “Serious investments and serious returns that we’ve gotten from them. But, Terry is our general manager and will be heavily involved with the process going forward. As will some other key people that we depend on, in terms of their football operations and football knowledge.”
In the last round of interviews, Blank family members also were on hand. It’s unclear if family members will be involved again this time around.
The biggest issue if the Falcons land Belichick is would they give him control over personnel and have Fontenot report to him, like Dimitroff reported to Quinn.
“It wouldn’t be any different than it is now between the head coach and the GM, dependent on who the head coach is,” McKay said. “I think one thing that we’re going to be committed to is, the head coach could be one that has head coaching experience. There is not going to be a definition of this head coach. It’s going to be left to the best candidate.
“Terry will play a part in that selection process, for sure, a central part. Then, we will determine exactly how you do it between the coach and the general manager. What we did before is kind of the way that a lot of teams are doing it, which is 50/50. One has got the draft, one has got free agency, one has got the 53 (man roster). There are a lot of ways to look at that between the GM and the coach, but Terry will be at that table.”
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