Mike Florio Heard This Rumor About Falcons Passing On Bill Belichick

Falcons owner Arthur Blank apparently really liked Bill Belichick but ultimately couldn’t pull the trigger on the greatest NFL coach of all time.

Atlanta obviously liked Belichick enough to interview him twice after he left the New England Patriots. But Blank reportedly was interested in Belichick enough to approach making an offer to the future Pro Football Hall of Famer.

So, what happened? Why did the Falcons hire Raheem Morris instead of Belichick? Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio provided some intel Tuesday on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Felger & Mazz.”

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“I had heard that Arthur Blank wanted to hire him in Atlanta and, you know, palace intrigue,” Florio said. “Rich McKay, working some things. He would’ve wanted McKay — I don’t know if he would’ve wanted him fired, but he would’ve wanted him to have no fingerprints whatsoever in any way, shape or form. ‘Directly or indirectly, I’m never talking to him. I’m never talking to anyone but Arthur Blank. That’s the way I always did it. That’s the way I’m always doing it. I don’t want Rich McKay around. I don’t want this person, I don’t want this person, I don’t want this person. Here’s who I want, here’s how I want to do it.’

“I think Blank wanted to do it but along the way — someway, somehow — Blank was convinced to stay the course. Maybe it was going to be that McKay was going to be so neutralized that it made Blank uncomfortable.”

Boomer Esiason took those rumblings to the next level earlier this week. An NFL executive told the former quarterback that Atlanta extended an offer to Belichick but the sides ultimately agreed they weren’t on the same page.

Time will tell if both sides made the right call. The Falcons might come to regret not hiring the legendary coach when they had the chance, but Belichick might come to look foolish for not changing his ways after falling out of favor in Foxboro, Mass.