Bless the Atlanta Falcons’ heart: They are shooting their shot. There are reports from national and local Atlanta insiders that the Dirty Birds want Bill Belichick to be their next head coach. On Wednesday, ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler reported that the Falcons have a strong interest in Belichick, if he were to move on from the New England Patriots.
On Thursday, after Belichick and the Patriots officially parted ways, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s D. Orlando Ledbetter reported team owner Arthur Blank wants Belichick. ESPN’s Adam Schefter also reported Thursday that the Falcons could be in the hunt for the six-time Super Bowl champion head coach this offseason.
Hey, shoot for the moon. Even if you miss you’ll land amongst the stars. If the Falcons are serious about changing the ways of this consistently disappointing franchise, why not go for one of the greatest coaches in the history of sports. Although, per Ledbetter’s source, Belichick is not interested in the job.
That makes sense to anyone who has ever watched the Falcons. Even the winning aura of Belichick may not be enough to clear that franchise of its losing juju. Their collapse down the stretch of this season’s NFC South race — a race that did not include the swiftest of competitors — was just the latest example of a franchise that slips on the banana peel every single time.
However, if Belichick did take the Atlanta job, what a glorious thing it could be. Imagine him in the lemon-pepper-wing capital of the world. There’s a J.R. Crickets down the street from the stadium. I’ll take him there personally, and then branch him out to the lesser-known gems.
A welcome party could be thrown at Blue Flame. Big K.R.I.T. titled a song about a ballet after the place. I’m positive that the talent there would put on a show for Belichick that he would never forget.
If he is going to leave Foxborough, then he should start over completely. No more drives down that Boston-Providence turnpike. Go on over to Northside Drive. Is the Colin Kaepernick mural still there? If so, Belichick could swing by there and get a quick lesson about just how far of a reach a non-violent protest can still have in the new millennium.
I’m telling you Bill, Atlanta is a fun town. You can get a nice taper with your haircut and look 10 years younger. There is also the opportunity to get reacquainted with the great American machine known as the Chevrolet. You’re probably driving a foreign car these days, but General Motors might reel you back in when you see that vehicle as you have never seen it before in the streets surrounding Mercedes Benz Stadium. Car and Bike Show weekend is a blast.
There are many reasons for Belichick not to be interested in the Falcons’ job. They should actually be looking for an offensive-minded head coach, or at least one that is not going to bring his staff of retreads with him from an offense that was sputtering during Tom Brady’s final season with the Patriots.
Then again, maybe the old coach just needs a change of scenery to change his ways. If introduced to it, his mind could be opened to how rewarding it can be to embrace a new way of life. Sometimes different is necessary to bring some vitality back to life. And there is certainly no more different of a place than New England where Belichick could coach than Atlanta.
