To the shock of many, the Atlanta Falcons decided not to hire former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Instead, went with former Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris as their new head coach.
While that might be surprising given the number of Super Bowls Belichick has won, there’s more to it than that.
Belichick has often refused to change or evolve as a coach, which seemed to catch up with him these past two seasons. Most notably, you could make a case he damaged quarterback Mac Jones’s growth by letting a defensive guy run the offense two years ago rather than a legitimate offensive coordinator. Jones then had a terrible 2023 season, even with Bill O’Brien as his new offensive coordinator. Belichick’s flip-flopping between Jones and Bailey Zappe didn’t help his confidence either.
Belichick still believes a great defense can carry a team to a Super Bowl, which was probably much more true when your quarterback was Tom Brady. But that’s not how it works when you don’t have a great signal caller. All of the teams left in the playoffs this year have great offenses that can move the ball against anyone.
Belichick has admitted he’s not looking to rebuild, which can also be read as an admission that doesn’t want to develop young talent. He wants to win right now and, presumably, become the winningest NFL coach of all time. He doesn’t have time at his age to deal with another rebuild to get there.
Belichick is 71, and while most of his contemporaries, like Nick Saban, decided to retire, he wants to keep coaching but wants to do so on his terms. To be fair, it was easier for Saban who was still at the top of his game, though he admitted this was his hardest season coaching. Belichick was forced out of New England after 23 years. As great as he is, if he wants to remain a part of the game, he has to adapt to it.
If Belichick ever wants to coach again, it may be time to change not only his style of coaching but his attitude. In other words, it’s time for him to adjust. If he isn’t willing to adjust or change his attitude and coaching style, this might have been the last time we see Bill Belichick on a football field sideline.
