NFL Rumors: Bill Belichick, Falcons Have 'Mutual Interest' After Patriots Exit

As Bill Belichick looks toward his next step after parting ways with the New England Patriots, one potential landing spot for the 71-year-old is a team that was on the losing end of one of the most famous Super Bowls he coached.

On the Saturday morning edition of SportsCenter, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported Belichick and the Atlanta Falcons are believed to have "mutual interest" in him becoming their new head coach:

"I was told to focus on talented, yet underachieving teams because that's really his wheelhouse. So, Atlanta comes to mind, they're probably a quarterback away. There's a belief leaguewide that there's some interest, potentially some mutual interest. The Chargers come to mind in that regard. There's also not a clear-cut fit right now. There's several teams in the league that are either looking to go with a younger coach or are just looking for a new outlook. Washington is probably out. Tennessee probably out. Seattle probably out. There aren't a lot of options right now; could be some surprises depending on what happens in the playoffs if another job opens that's a little more high profile, Belichick could look into that. One thing is clear though, he does want to continue coaching."

The Falcons were one of the first teams mentioned as a potential landing spot for Belichick when his partnership with the Patriots came to an end on Thursday.

Atlanta's job came open on Sunday, hours after losing the regular-season finale to the New Orleans Saints, when Arthur Smith was fired. The 41-year-old went 7-10 in each of his three seasons with the Falcons.

If Belichick does end up in Atlanta, it would represent a major shift in how team owner Arthur Blank operates when it comes to hiring a head coach.

Not counting interim coaches who took over during a season, Blank has hired five head coaches since buying the Falcons in 2002. None of them had previous experience in the role at the NFL level.

Considering the Falcons were stuck in neutral under Smith, changing up the modus operandi may not be a bad idea for the franchise.

Belichick would bring a level of stability to Atlanta that often seemed missing from Smith, who had a combative streak to his personality that frequently showed up when he was talking to the media.

While few people would describe Belichick as warm toward the media, he tends to be more boring when talking at press conferences than anything else.

There are still roster issues for the Falcons to correct before becoming a strong playoff contender in the NFC. They should be in the market for a quarterback this offseason after Desmond Ridder struggled in his first full year as a starter.

But hiring Belichick gives the Falcons instant credibility because of his long track record of success and he's still capable of crafting a strong defensive game plan on a week-to-week basis.