Bill Belichick can’t do his job. At the moment, he’s an unwanted coach. He’s on to unemployment.
The coach with six Super Bowl rings – eight if you count his stint with the New York Giants – didn’t get the Atlanta job.
According to late-breaking news Thursday, Raheem Morris did.
Let that sit and stir for a minute.
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Shock and awe is one way to look at it.
Or, as one former Patriot texted after hearing the Falcons didn’t want Belichick: “Sad choice.”
Meaning, it’s either sad for Belichick that the perception is he can’t get hired, or, the Falcons are a sad outfit for passing him up.
Either way, let’s add another reaction that’s also fitting – relief.
As in, it’s better for Belichick, who was brought in for two interviews with Arthur Blank’s team, to have avoided the Falcons, a team with no quarterback, and little shot at being a championship contender any time soon.
Going in, given the jobs available, it made more sense for Belichick to wait, and perhaps sit out a year until something more suitable opened up.
Why settle on Atlanta, when Dallas, Buffalo, and/or Kansas City might be possibilities down the road. Why not wait for something more suitable?
Belichick certainly had his reasons for agreeing to interview there, and wanting to join the team he left as road kill in 2016, after coming back from 28-3 to beat them in Super Bowl LI.
Still, it really didn’t make sense for him to be a part of a complete rebuild, or a partial rebuild, with the Falcons falling somewhere in between.
To get the best out of the soon-to-be-72-year old former Patriots coach, he needs to jump in with a team that’s close to winning. Not one that’s miles away. He is better equipped to push a good team over the top, rather than start over from the ground floor.
He doesn’t need to roll the dice and hope the quarterback he drafts pans out. He needs a team that already has an established quarterback.
Take Kansas City, for example. If Andy Reid retires when the season is over, a move that’s been speculated, it’s hard to walk into a better situation given Patrick Mahomes would be his quarterback for the foreseeable future. He’s the closest thing to Tom Brady in terms of being able to will a team to victories, and we all know what Belichick was able to do with No. 12 leading the offense.
Josh Allen hasn’t been able to get Buffalo past Mahomes and Kansas City, but he’s also in the elite quarterback category. In Dallas, Dak Prescott isn’t too far behind that group.
While there are no guarantees, it’s certainly possible for the Chiefs, Cowboys and Bills to be looking for a new head coach soon enough.
The question is whether Belichick will be patient, and not settle for a dead end job. If one of his primary goals is to break Don Shula’s all-time mark for wins – he needs 15 to break the record – why go someplace where it’ll take him more than two years to accomplish the feat? Why play out the string on a loser just to get the record?
Belichick should want more. As the most decorated coach on the planet, he deserves more, even as an elder statesman.
He is still capable of plotting and scheming to shut down opposing teams. He can still coach. He just needs to be willing to surrender having total control, or compromise on that.
It would appear the control issue was one of the main reasons Blank and Falcons got cold feet, and went with Morris, who is certainly deserving of an opportunity.
Still, it sounds slightly crazy that an unproven Morris would beat out Belichick.
The Seattle and Washington jobs are still open. But neither of those teams have Belichick on their radar.
No doubt one of the football networks will have Belichick in their sights. It sure didn’t hurt Sean Payton sitting out a year, doing TV. The thought of Belichick and Rex Ryan hypothetically squaring off at the analyst table would be ratings gold.
It would also keep Belichick front and center as he waits for the right opportunity to materialize. Of course, he wants to coach now. He’s spent the past 49 seasons as an NFL coach. He doesn’t want to sit on the sidelines.
For once in his football life, he might not have a choice.
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