Ex-Falcons GM has theory for why Falcons passed on Bill Belichick

Nov 18, 2021; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick walks on the field before a game against the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

A former Atlanta Falcons general manager thinks he knows why owner Arthur Blank resisted hiring Bill Belichick as head coach.

Thomas Dimitroff, who served as Atlanta’s GM from 2008 to 2020, appeared on “Felger & Mazz” on Boston’s 98.5 The Sports Hub on Monday and suggested that Blank prioritized loyalty first and foremost. Even though existing Falcons brass assured Blank that they could work with Belichick, there was an unspoken knowledge that things would change, and that it could present problems for the organization.

“Look, anytime Bill goes into an organization, you would assume whatever your thoughts are about him, he deserves the right to run it,” Dimitroff said, via Matt Ehalt of the New York Post. “Meaning if there is a GM in there, Terry Fontenot — Terry was going to stay, but he was going to work with him, but maybe there was a group inside the building who kept pushing back to Arthur — Let’s call it the way it is. Any organization wants to keep their world, right? Presidents want to keep their world.

“I think, in the end, (Blank) has to make a choice, and he has to make a choice about what he’s looking for in the approach to culture. I think they felt like that was the group to do it.”

Dimitroff worked with Belichick in New England before running the Falcons, so he knows all the principals involved. In his mind, it sounds like Blank may have wanted to hire Belichick, but did not want to risk destabilizing the organization further by trying to make him co-exist with the current front office he also wanted to keep.

Another report indicated that Blank personally wanted to hire Belichick, but allowed top leadership to sway him away from doing it. Dimitroff’s explanation may account for just how Blank was moved away from the decision.