Rob Gronkowski believes the Falcons passed on Bill Belichick for this reason
"I think Coach Belichick would have been the perfect fit.”
Despite seven total NFL head-coaching vacancies opening up this offseason, Bill Belichick found himself on the outside looking in at this winter’s hiring cycle.
Even with the lackluster returns put forth by the Patriots ever since Tom Brady left Foxborough in March 2020, a coach with Belichick’s lofty resume seemed destined to land another coaching gig in short order.
And while early reports tabbed Belichick as a frontrunner for the Falcons’ coaching spot, Atlanta ultimately passed on the future Hall-of-Fame coach following two formal interviews — choosing to hire Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris instead.
Belichick’s track record as an experienced tactician and defensive mastermind might still be respected across the NFL. But according to former Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, Belichick’s insistence on getting involved on the personnel side of football operations ultimately led to his undoing this offseason.
“I feel like what happened is that I don’t think that the Atlanta Falcons organization wanted to give up that much power and give all the decisions to Coach Belichick,” Gronkowski told Fox News Digital. “Other than that, I think Coach Belichick would have been the perfect fit.”
Gronkowski’s comments fall in line with several reports from NFL insiders about what led to Belichick getting shut out from this offseason’s coaching search.
“Sources with multiple teams that just hired new head coaches expressed varying degrees of relief Belichick wasn’t joining their team,” The Athletic’s Jeff Howe wrote in a column last week about Belichick’s failed job search this offseason. “Some were concerned Belichick would overhaul the leadership structure and the order of command.”
Howe also reported that a “frosty relationship” between Belichick and Falcons president Rich McKay also hindered the former Patriots coach’s chances of getting hired by Atlanta.
Even if teams might have been hesitant over handing roster control to Belichick, former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman said that his longtime coach’s failed job search stands as a bad look for the NFL.
“It just tells me that not everyone is really about winning in this league if you’re not going to hire Bill Belichick,” Edelman said during a recent interview with the “Chasin’ It With Chase Daniel & Trey Wingo” podcast.
“Yeah, he’s tough. Yeah, he is a force to work with,” Edelman continued when asked about Belichick’s reputation. “But any team that brings him instantly gets, like, 35 percent better just off rip because of the amount of knowledge he knows, the amount of experience he has. He’s seen everything through the game.”
Even though Belichick might have to wait a year for another shot at coaching an NFL team, Gronkowski added that his former coach should be able to make the most of a year away from the sidelines.
“I think it happened for a reason. I think coach Belichick should take a year off from coaching,” Gronkowski noted. “I mean, he’s put his time in. He’s been coaching for 50+ years straight, too, in the NFL. I mean, he can take a year off, reinvent himself, (go) find himself, go enjoy something other than just football.”
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