Bill Belichick indicated he is ready to return to coaching less than a week after retiring from the New England Patriots and spoke to the Atlanta Falcons about their vacant position.
The Falcons announced Monday night that they have interviewed the 71-year-old Belichick, who left the Patriots on Thursday after 24 seasons and a record six Super Bowl championships.
The fifth of those Super Bowls came nearly seven years ago against the Falcons in a game that Atlanta led 28-3 in the third quarter before Tom Brady lifted the Patriots to a 34-28 victory in overtime.
The Falcons are looking for a successor to Arthur Smith, who was fired shortly after completing his third consecutive 7-10 season with the team. Atlanta has not released any details about the interview with Belichick, which is believed to have been conducted in person.
The Falcons previously conducted virtual interviews with five candidates, only one of whom has head coaching experience. Including the playoffs, Belichick has 333 wins, second all-time behind Hall of Famer Don Shula’s 347. He led the Patriots to 17 division titles.
Belichick had control over player personnel decisions at New England. If he joins the Falcons, Belichick would either have to agree to coach without that control or the Falcons would have to change their management structure.
At the Jan. 8 press conference to discuss Smith’s firing, Falcons owner Arthur Blank and CEO Rich McKay represented the team. General manager Terry Fontenot was not present. Blank said he and McKay would lead the search for a coach, with input from Fontenot, and Blank was clear he expects the new coach and Fontenot to each report to McKay, as was the case with Smith and Fontenot. Blank said Fontenot would remain in charge of the staff.
“If you look at a traditional organizational chart, they both report to Rich McKay, and we’ve been clear about that,” Blank said.
Belichick’s difficulty replacing Brady at quarterback in New England was similar to Atlanta’s problems after Matt Ryan. The Falcons have gone back and forth between Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke this season, while the Patriots have had little success with Mac Jones or Bailey Zappe.
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The Patriots are 29-39 since Brady’s departure following the 2019 season, including 4-13 this season. The Falcons haven’t had a winning season since 2017.
The candidates for a virtual interview with the Falcons are Baltimore Ravens assistant head coach and defensive line coach Anthony Weaver, Carolina defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, Cincinnati offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, San Francisco defensive coordinator Steve Wilks and Baltimore defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald.
Interviews with staff from other clubs must take place virtually before the end of the division play-off matches on Sunday. Such restrictions do not apply to teams interviewing candidates like Belichick, who are no longer employed by other teams.