Bill Belichick Should Be Concerned About Falcons After Patriots Exit amid NFL Rumors

The Atlanta Falcons "desperately want" Bill Belichick as the organization's next head coach, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reported.

"That source said it's "50/50 right now that he takes the job," he wrote.

Despite the explosive performances of skills position players Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, and Drake London, questions remain at the quarterback position, where Desmond Ridder underwhelmed just enough in 2023 to twice be benched in favor of Taylor Heinicke.

Ridder completed just over 64 percent of his passes for 2836 yards, with 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions and an 83.4 quarterback rating.

Uncertainty at quarterback is something Belichick is familiar with. It was something that, ultimately, cost him his job in New England, where Mac Jones failed to develop into the starter reflective of his No. 15 overall position and backup Bailey Zappe proved inconsistent.

The failure by both him and the organization to turn either of those young players into a franchise quarterback and field an even halfway competent offense in 2023 resulted in a tumultuous season that ended with Belichick and owner Robert Kraft parting ways.

Now, arguably the greatest coach in professional football history is free to take his knowledge to another organization and it is not at all surprising that he may not be completely sold on the idea of it being in Atlanta, where a similar situation exists.

At this point in his career, with a resume that includes six Super Bowl rings as a head coach, why would Belichick want to go through the potentially frustrating process of drafting another quarterback, developing him, and hoping the team responds in short order?

Especially when there is a Los Angeles Chargers job out there where Justin Herbert is the incumbent starter and a franchise quarterback at that?

There will be those who point to Tom Brady as evidence that Belichick can, and has, developed a winning quarterback and they would be right. Without the legendary head coach trusting him, giving Brady the opportunity, and working with him early on in his career, who knows what the greatest to ever play that position would have turned out to be?

What we do know is that without that player, and with any other quarterback under center, Belichick's career record is not nearly as pretty. With the sure-fire Hall of Famer, he is 249-75. Without him? 83-101.

The Atlanta job is intriguing because of the promise that appeared on tape this season. Defensively, there are pieces like Jessie Bates III, Calais Campbell, and Bud Dupree to be excited about.

The aforementioned offensive players are better than anyone he worked with in 2023, but without a quarterback to hold things down behind center and lead the team, Belichick would essentially find himself right back where was this past season in New England, without an established signal-caller to make the most of the weapons he does have.

The result then? The 28th-ranked passing offense, averaging 180.5 yards per game, and the third-worst overall unit.

It is not a situation he would likely thrive in, nor is it one he should be all that excited about inheriting given how the last three seasons of his coaching career have gone.