Bill Belichick no longer the favorite to become head coach of the Falcons

BOSTON -- Following his departure from New England, it looked like Bill Belichick would be landing his next head coaching gig in Atlanta with the Falcons. Now, it's looking that Belichick may not get a job this offseason.

UPDATE: The Falcons plan to hire Raheem Morris as the team's next head coach, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Belichick interviewed with the Falcons for a second time last Friday, when he met in-person with the Atlanta brass, but Atlanta has welcomed in a number of head-coaching candidates since then. Mike Vrabel interviewed for the job on Wednesday, bringing the number of candidates to chat with the Falcons up to 14.

"That doesn't sound like a team that's ready to make a move on Bill Belichick," ESPN's Adam Schefter said on Thursday's Get Up!. "The Falcons have shown that they are interested in a lot of people and in their own words, they described to me over the weekend that their coaching search after they met with Belichick for a second time is 'wide open.' 

"So, if it's wide open after you've met with Bill Belichick twice, that certainly tells you that he's not the favorite for the job," said Schefter. 

Schefter pontificated that teams are worried about Belichick's age (he'll turn 72 in April), his lack of success without Tom Brady (he's 82-98 without Brady as his QB), and how much control he would want when it comes to building the roster.

But Schefter also compared the situation to Brady's free agency in 2020, when only the Buccaneers and Chargers showed interest, and how no teams signed Lamar Jackson to an offer sheet last offseason.

"Sometimes teams get in the way of themselves and don't make rational decisions. Here we have the greatest coach of all time sitting there with a lack of interest, which boggles my mind," said Schefter.

After the Chargers hired Jim Harbaugh on Wednesday and the Panthers hired Dave Canales on Thursday, only the Falcons, Washington Commanders, and Seattle Seahawks have openings at head coach. The Falcons remain the only team to show interest in Belichick since he and the Patriots parted ways.

"There's the real possibility that he's not going to get any of these head coaching jobs," Schefter said. "But he's still Bill Belichick, and to me, you put them on a team and that team is off to the races going in the right direction. But that's not the way the teams in this cycle are viewing it."