In a surprise move, the Atlanta Falcons hired Raheem Morris as their head coach rather than Bill Belichick. For Fox Sports’ Skip Bayless, the decision to say no to Belichick stems more from Falcons owner Arthur Blank’s refusal to give Belichick everything he wanted.
On Friday’s edition of Undisputed, Bayless argued that Blank said no to Belichick due to Belichick’s likely demands for complete power with little-to-no oversight from Blank’s trusted organizational brass such as general manager Terry Fontenot and CEO Rich McKay. He believes that Blank – despite being older than Jerry Jones – is reluctant to give Belichick “the keys to the kingdom.”
“I believe Arthur Blank said no to Bill because he wanted the keys to the kingdom,” Bayless said.
Bayless asserted that Blank may have believed that Belichick did not earn the right to have the “keys to the kingdom” based on his most recent run of results.
He then finished by wondering why the rest of the NFL didn’t want to hire Belichick if he’s considered the best coach in the league.
.@RealSkipBayless weighs in on the Falcons hiring Raheem Morris over Bill Belichick:
“I believe Arthur Blank said no to Bill because he wanted the keys to the kingdom.” pic.twitter.com/nSXoOZmx6L
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) January 26, 2024
It’s pretty clear that Bill Belichick is not seen in the same light that he once was.
In years past other teams likely would have offered multiple draft picks and total roster control to bring Belichick into the fold.
But four years of less than savory results may have led to Belichick’s reputation deteriorating in the eyes of NFL owners.
It certainly didn’t convince Arthur Blank.