FLOWERY BRANCH — Former New England coach Bill Belichick is the Falcons’ No. 1 target to replace Arthur Smith as the head coach, a person familiar with the situation told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday.
“The guy they are going after is Belichick by the way,” according to the person. “I don’t know if they’ll get Bill, but that’s who (the Falcons) want.”
Smith was fired after finishing his third season Monday. The Falcons were 7-10 in each of his three seasons.
The Falcons have elected not to comment about the search and didn’t allow general manager Terry Fontenot to comment on Smith’s firing. The Falcons said they will release the names of candidates after they interview.
“For the top few coaches, no one will be taking a chance with Jim Harbaugh or Bill Belichick,” long-time NFL agent Leigh Steinberg told the AJC on Tuesday. “They are proven winners wherever they’ve been.”
Belichick, 71, who led team to six Super Bowl titles, agreed to part ways with the Patriots’ franchise Thursday – bringing an end to his 24-year tenure as the mastermind of the most decorated dynasty of the NFL’s Super Bowl era.
The Falcons, then under coach Dan Quinn, faced Belichick and the Patriots in Super Bowl 51. The Falcons built a 28-3 lead before the Patriots erased the largest deficit in Super Bowl history and won 34-28 in overtime.
“The guy that (owner Arthur) Blank is going after is Bill,” the person said. “I don’t think they’ll get Bill. Bill doesn’t want this job, but it might be like Sean Payton, and he’s got no other options, and he wants to coach, he’ll take it.”
Last year, after DeMeco Ryans turned down Denver and went with the Houston Texans, Payton, formerly of the Saints, went to the Broncos.
“Sean thought he was going to have all of these opportunities,” according to the person familiar with the situation. “At the end of the day, when DeMeco turned down Denver, Denver got desperate. That’s how Sean got to Denver.”
Belichick reportedly is assembling a staff and could be a candidate in Washington. Former Falcons interim coach Raheem Morris is a potential fallback candidate if the Falcons can’t land Belichick.
Blank and the Falcons have ties to the New England organization. Blank is a good friend of Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and they often sit together at the commissioner’s press conferences at the Super Bowl.
Also, Falcons former general manager Thomas Dimitroff came from the New England organization.
When the Falcons were looking for a replacement for Bobby Petrino in 2008, they went after former New England coach Bill Parcells. He reportedly leveraged the Falcons’ interest into landing the Miami job and being named the executive vice president of football operations.
Belichick had similar powers in New England, but his personnel moves of late have been substandard. It will be interesting to see if he gets full control with the Falcons or another franchise.
Belichick became only the third coach in NFL history to reach 300 career regular-season wins earlier this season, joining Hall of Famers Don Shula and George Halas. He has a total of 333 wins, including the playoffs. He trails only Shula (347 wins) for the record for victories by a coach.
Since Tom Brady left after the 2019 season, Belichick and the Patriots have fallen on hard times. The record in four seasons is 29-38 with one playoff appearance.
The six Super Bowl wins tie Belichick with pre-merger mentors Halas and Curly Lambeau for the most NFL championships. Paul Brown has seven professional titles, including three NFL titles.
Belichick won his last Super Bowl, a 13-3 win over the Los Angeles Rams on Feb. 3, 2019, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“It’s incredibly flattering,” Belichick said at the Georgia World Congress Center the day after the game about being compared with the greats. “I grew up watching coach Halas. He and my dad were friends. Coach Halas’ defensive coordinator, Chuck Mather, was a friend of my dad’s; his son went to the Naval Academy. So, coach Shula, coach Lambeau, coach (Tom) Landry, just go right down the line. Coach (Bill) Walsh. I competed against several of those coaches, and I was aware of coach (Vince) Lombardi as a kid growing up watching the first Super Bowl, and all the way through. But really, for me, it’s about the team accomplishment.”
Belichick’s legacy in New England also was marred by two major cheating scandals and several minor ones. The Patriots lost draft picks and were fined more than $1 million during his tenure. Under Belichick’s watch, the Patriots were accused of hacking opponents headsets and issuing murky injury reports.
Coincidentally, the Falcons and Smith were finished $75,000 and $25,000 for an injury-reporting violation that involved running back Bijan Robinson this season.
The Falcons have requested interviews with San Francisco defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, Baltimore associate head coach/defensive line Anthony Weaver, Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Detroit defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.
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