Bill Belichick completed his first interview for a vacant head coaching job in the NFL a few days after parting ways with the New England Patriots.
As the Atlanta Falcons officially confirmed, they completed an official interview with the Patriots’ long-time successful coach on Monday. As Tom Pelissero of the “NFL Network” added, Belichick met directly with team owner Arthur Blank, who fired Arthur Smith after three seasons just the previous week. According to Peiissero, no agreement has been reached yet, but discussions are “ongoing.”
For Belichick, it was not only the first job interview this year, it was also the first job interview for him since 2000, when he announced his resignation after a few hours at the New York Jets and finally ended up with the Patriots via trade. Since then, he has won six Super Bowls and reached nine – both records for a head coach in the NFL. If you include Belichick’s two titles as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants in the 1980s, Belichick is the most successful person ever in the NFL with eight Super Bowl victories.
Belichick is the sixth candidate the Falcons have spoken to. They had previously had discussions with Mike MacDonald (Defensive Coordinator Ravens), Steve Wilks (DC 49ers), Brian Callahan (Offensive Coordinator Bengals), Ejiro Evero (DC Panthers) and Anthony Weaver (Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line Ravens) for their head -Coach position.
Falcons have already fulfilled Rooney Rule
Since Belichick is no longer under contract with the Patriots and the Falcons have already fulfilled the Rooney Rule through their interviews with Evero and Weaver, Belichick could sign at any time if an agreement is reached.
It would be strange to hire Belichick, who will certainly find other interested parties, after all, he was partly responsible for the great disappointment in the Falcons franchise history when he and the Patriots ended up winning Super Bowl LI after being 3:28 behind after the 2016 season, making the biggest Super Bowl comeback in league history.