JUST IN: Arthur Blank says Bill Belichick never asked for control of Falcons

Bill Belichick’s services appeared to be highly sought after by the Atlanta Falcons prior to Raheem Morris being appointed head coach.

Arthur Blank, the owner of the Falcons, made an effort to set the record straight on Friday.

The Falcons conducted several interviews with the renowned former Patriots head coach before deciding to appoint Morris, the former defensive coordinator for the Rams.

Before the 2024 season, there were a lot of rumours that Belichick would want to be in charge of any team he coached. However, Blank made an effort to dispel those rumours, saying that the legendary coach was never given the opportunity to lead the Falcons and that he never requested complete control over player personnel.
“I would like to be absolutely clear, whether you want to use 2,000, 100,000, or any other percentage: Bill Belichick never requested, during our conversation, total control over the staff, the facility, or anything similar,” Blank told reporters on Friday.

He was really cooperative and inclusive. He met Terry Fontenot, the general manager of the Falcons, looked through our personnel on his own, and texted me privately. I later told Terry that I thought he would enjoy working with me.

Morris, the Rams DC from 2021–23, was ultimately chosen by the Falcons. Morris had previously coached in Atlanta, having taken over as temporary head coach after Dan Quinn was sacked after the team’s 0–5 start to the season. Morris had previously served as assistant head coach from 2015–19.
The Falcons finished the season 4-7 under Morris.

After evaluating 14 applicants, Blank said why the Falcons selected Morris: “The three years he worked with a different coaching environment, a different kind of setup, which [Rams head coach] Sean McVay operates differently than a lot of other coaches do.”
“And he learned a lot from their coaching scheme and setup, as well as how they promote from within and simply move coaches around in a much more lateral way.”

After a lengthy tenure in New England, Belichick is still without a team as of right now.