If Belichick Has His Way, Atlanta Could Be in Trouble
The offseason is young, but that hasn’t stopped the Atlanta Falcons from making aggressive moves to secure their coach for 2024. Shortly after the 2023 season the Falcons canned two-year head coach Arthur Smith after back-to-back lackluster seasons. Fans know that the Falcons need to make a big splash in free agency if they want to bounce back from mediocrity.
Fortunately for Atlanta, one of the premier coaching options has its eyes set on Georgia. Bill Belichick is a free agent and has reportedly met with Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank a few times to interview for the coaching vacancy. The six-time champ could be just what the doctor ordered for an ailing Falcons franchise.
If the Falcons can secure the former Patriot, it will undoubtedly give players and fans renewed hope for this upcoming season. But there is always a catch isn't there? Belichick might be bringing along some stowaways that could make Atlanta fans worried.
Belichick Might Get the Band Back Together
According to Mark Maske of the Washington Post, there is increasing belief around the league that if Belichick does accept the Atlanta job, he could try and bring along Josh McDaniels, Joe Judge, and Matt Patricia to fill in coordinator roles.
Belichick is a coach who is set in his ways and demands his coaching staff to buy in or get out. The “Patriot Way” has been the mantra that many see as the reason Belichick has been wildly successful all of these years. Phrases like "do your job", "humble pie", and "no days off" are focal points of the Belichick system that coaches and players alike needed to internalize.
Since 2000, this way of life has led the Patriots to the Super Bowl nine times.
The Patriot Way has quite a lasting mark on those who leave New England. So much so that those who do leave try to embody the teachings of Belichick and control the team just as he had in Foxboro. Unfortunately, there are no successful copycats in the NFL.
McDaniels, Judge, and Patricia tried to replicate their successes in their short head coaching stints by bringing along the Patriot Way built by Belichick. They all failed. Horribly.
The Trifecta of Suck Will Not Save Atlanta
Judge finished his tenure with the New York Giants with a 10-23 record. Patricia left Detroit with a disappointing 13-29-1 record. McDaniels, who had the most attempts getting two chances with the Denver Broncos and the Las Vegas Raiders, couldn’t get it done either winning just 20 games to his 32 losses.
These are the guys that Belichick is soul-bonded to and who he wants to bring to a new organization. Bill wants these guys because they are sold on the same old Patriot Way of yesteryear.
Belichick wants to bring his old-school mentality to a team that desperately needs someone who can get the most out of a young group of great talent. If what we’ve seen from the past few years of the Patriots under Belichick, this outdated coaching philosophy could do more harm than good for this Falcons team. Pair that with a trio of coaches who have floundered on their own, and now you have a terrible strew brewing.
For what it's worth, this group of coaches did win a championship together in 2014 when they stole a win from the Seattle Seahawks and another in 2016 where they beat the - uh actually that's not important. This group is capable of greatness, but the past few seasons have proven that the league has surpassed and moved on from their coaching style.
The great news for Atlanta fans is that this is all “maybe”, “potentially” and “could be’s”. We don’t know if Blank will give full control to Belichick to craft his “super team” of coaches or if there will be a set of checks and balances to keep the new HC under control.
If Belichick goes get his way, the Falcons might not see the top of the NFC South for quite some time.
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