Rob Gronkowski said the Falcons should hire Bill Belichick and give him full control
"I would 100 percent hand it over to coach Belichick," Gronkowski said. "He has a proven record of being able to handle it."
So far, teams have reportedly been hesitant to hire Bill Belichick.
He’s had a pair of interviews with the Falcons, but that’s about it in terms of what has been reported.
Earlier this week, The Athletic’s Josh Kendall reported that Belichick’s candidacy for the Falcons opening had “lost momentum.”
NBC Sports’ Peter King said that it was “weird” that Belichick hasn’t gotten more interviews. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer said that teams are interested in Belichick as a coach, but not necessarily as someone who makes personnel decisions.
Former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski is in favor of letting Belichick have full control over coaching and personnel decisions. That’s what the Falcons should do, Gronkowski said during a recent appearance on the “Up & Adams” show.
“I would 100 percent hand it over to coach Belichick,” Gronkowski said. “He has a proven record of being able to handle it. He handled it very well for however long he was in New England – what was it like 20-plus years? He knows how to do it. He’s got experience, so hand it over to him. He’s going to change the program around.”
Belichick spent 24 seasons in New England. He won six Super Bowls, nine AFC title games, 17 division titles and is a three-time AP NFL Coach of the Year selection. He is second on the all-time list for wins among NFL coaches, and he posted 19 consecutive winning seasons from 2001-2019.
But, three of his past four seasons were losing seasons. He has a losing record as a head coach without Tom Brady, who is now retired. The Patriots finished last in the AFC East in 2023, and tied for the second-worst record in the NFL at 4-13.
Something wasn’t “quite right” with the Patriots this year, team owner Robert Kraft said earlier this month. He said he didn’t know whether it was coaching or personnel that caused New England to lose so many close games. Eight of New England’s 13 losses were by a touchdown or less.
Kraft mentioned that he felt that retaining Belichick as just a coach without personnel powers wouldn’t have worked. Belichick had so much power for so long that taking some of it away would have been a challenge.
“All of us need checks and balances in our life,” Kraft said. “We need what I say – I call it, we need doctor ‘no’s’ around us, people to protect ourselves from ourselves, protect us from ourselves.
“And, as things evolve and you get more power, sometimes people are afraid to speak up,” Kraft added. “I’m speaking about all companies. I think it’s good to have checks and balances, but once you have it, it’s kind of hard to pull it away and expect to have the accountability you want.”
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