The Falcons coaching search has really ramped up over the last week or so, but one constant remains: Bill Belichick appears to be the primary target of Arthur Blank, and so far, no team other than the Falcons really seems to be involved. In most cases, it would be difficult to argue that any team, especially one with a track record like the Falcons, shouldn’t be interested in poaching the greatest coach of all time. However, this isn’t the case in most cases. The Falcons don’t possess a roster primed to contend for a Super Bowl, at least not yet. They don’t even know who their starting quarterback is going to be next year, and if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Bill Belichick since Tom Brady left, it’s that he is not the right guy to draft and develop a quarterback. Given that’s the Falcons most pressing need, it doesn’t make sense to hire a short-term fix to a long-term problem.
However, not everybody agrees. Former Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff is very familiar with Bill Belichick from their days in New England, and he still believes Belichick is the best coach available for teams looking to win a Super Bowl right now. “Bill Belichick added an average of 1.5 points per game above his talent, including Brady. This is a concept that a lot of people might not be able to grasp, including Brady from 2000–2023, #1 in the history of the league.” I don’t think there is anyone doubting Bill Belichick’s past accomplishments. Brady or not, he’s the best to ever do it. The questions surrounding him are about whether the game has passed him by. Dimitroff doesn’t believe that’s the case. “This guy is still on top of his game. I know people want to claim Tom Brady, and Tom’s great—two of the best at what they do. We get it. He’s going into wherever he goes; he, I believe, is the man out there that can help bring an organization to win a Super Bowl in the next 3–4 years over anyone.” Thankfully, Thomas Dimitroff isn’t the GM of the Falcons anymore, or the red carpet may already have been laid out for Bill Belichick in Atlanta, but it may not matter because Arthur Blank seems to think the same.
He’s also an 81-year-old man desperate to win a Super Bowl right now. That’s playing a huge factor in all of this. My issue isn’t really with Dimtroff’s sentiments regarding Belichick, because they very well may be true. In the right situation, one with talent and a quarterback in place, there would be few coaches available that I would want over Belichick. The problem is that the Falcons aren’t in one of those situations. There’s some talent on the roster, but it’s not Super Bowl ready right now, and more importantly, they don’t have a quarterback. The Falcons need to be thinking about the future. They should be exploring every avenue in an attempt to find a young quarterback that can lead the franchise for the next 10–15 years. With Belichick, that won’t be the top priority, and if it doesn’t work, the Falcons will have wasted 3–4 years and be right back in the same spot they are in now as we approach the year 2030.
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