If Bill Belichick, Josh McDaniels Land With Falcons, Is This QB Their Guy?

There’s no guarantee Bill Belichick is coaching the Atlanta Falcons in 2024, but if the legendary head coach is on a sideline next season, it’s becoming increasingly clear it will be in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

That’s no slam dunk at this point. Belichick, as far as we know, has taken two interviews with the NFC South organization. He is not alone in that regard. The Falcons are amid a robust search to replace Arthur Smith. In fact, one report indicated Belichick to the Falcons has “lost momentum.”

Let’s just assume, however, Falcons owner Arthur Blank goes big-game hunting and bags Belichick to run the football operations in Atlanta. Belichick’s first objective as head of the flock is pretty simple: find a quarterback.

The Falcons’ quarterback situation cost Smith his job. It’s a talented roster, especially on offense, everywhere but the most important position on the field. It sure looks like 2022 third-round pick Desmond Ridder ain’t it, and Taylor Heinicke and Logan Woodside don’t inspire a ton of confidence, either.

Even with a potentially QB-rich draft, you have to assume if the Falcons go the Belichick route, they’ll likely favor a veteran QB over a project given Belichick’s age. The head coach turns 72 in April and hiring Belichick is a move to win now-ish.

So, free agency — or a trade — is likely the way to go. Veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins is the consensus top free agent on the board. He seemingly fits what Belichick wants. The 35-year-old is accurate and takes care of the football. As one NFL exec told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Cousins would be a “great fit” for a Belichick-led Falcons team.

Here’s another, albeit slightly riskier idea: Baker Mayfield.

The 2018 No. 1 pick is also a free agent this offseason, and he has done a nice job resurrecting his career with Tampa Bay. Mayfield threw for more than 4,000 yards with 28 touchdown passes to just 10 interceptions this season. He completed 64.3% of his passes, a new career high. The Bucs reached the divisional round where they lost to the Detroit Lions, but Tampa Bay had a late drive where it could have tied the game, though that drive (and the season) ended with a Mayfield pick.

It sounds like the Bucs and Mayfield are both interested in a reunion, but that’s easier said than done. As for Atlanta, why Belichick, and why the Falcons for Mayfield?

Well, if you go back a few years to Mayfield’s draft year, you might recall a very interesting story. According to Mayfield’s agent, Jack Mills, the Belichick-led Patriots considered trading up to draft Mayfield in 2018. New England would have had to move heaven and earth to get that far up the board, and Mayfield went No. 1 overall to Cleveland anyway. The Patriots, according to Albert Breer, tried to set up a visit with Mayfield’s camp. The Athletic’s Jeff Howe heard the same thing back in 2018. Additionally, ESPN’s Mina Kimes in a 2019 profile of Mayfield, noted the QB was convinced the Patriots would actually move up to get him.

Howe also added this interesting nugget: “Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels told a member of Mayfield’s camp the Pats were indeed considering that type of scenario (trading up to draft him).”

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McDaniels could be the key figure in all of this. He’s still just kind of hanging out, unemployed, taking a fat check from the Las Vegas Raiders, who fired him as head coach midway through the 2023 season. McDaniels obviously is insanely loyal to Belichick; McDaniels was in Foxboro, Mass., for Belichick’s final game as Patriots head coach.

NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport last weekend told viewers “Do not be surprised if Josh McDaniels ends up landing with Belichick if he goes to Atlanta.”

During the 2020 coaching cycle, McDaniels was in the running for the Browns’ vacant head coaching job. Mayfield was still there at the time. During the process, veteran Cleveland NFL reporter Mary Kay Cabot mentioned McDaniels’ appreciation for Mayfield.

“(McDaniels) found Mayfield to have a very high football acumen along with his physical attributes, and the two immediately hit it off,” Cabot wrote for Cleveland.com. “Mayfield’s 6-foot height didn’t bother him, and he gave the Patriots a glowing scouting report.”

On the surface, Mayfield might seem too risky with the football to appease Belichick (and McDaniels). But they clearly saw something in him at some point. If the duo lands in Atlanta, the question is whether they still believe in him. That being said, there is a lot of offensive talent on the Falcons roster with Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson all in the fold. We saw how Mayfield performed in 2024 with a solid Bucs offensive arsenal, and if Belichick and McDaniels could coach him up, that offense could get turned around really fast.

Just something to consider as the NFL’s silly season kicks into high gear.