One of the greatest coaches of all time remains available, to any team that wants to hire him. More than 12 days since he officially left the Patriots, he has still been interviewed by only one team.
As recently explained here, other teams are considering whether to pursue him. At least one currently has a head-coaching vacancy; at least one currently does not.
The lack of widespread interest in Belichick is surprising on the surface, given his incredible success and his lingering reputation for being an excellent coach when it comes to preparing a team and coaching it during a game. However, plenty of fans are ambivalent about the prospect of embracing a coach who hasn’t had much success since losing quarterback Tom Brady.
Belichick’s authority continues to be a question mark. In Atlanta, he’d ostensibly report to CEO Rich McKay. Belichick might not be interested in doing that.
Some also believe, as previously noted, that Belichick has little interest in coaching a team in a major media market. As one source explained it over the weekend, that comes from a desire to avoid the dynamic of reporters aggressively trying to develop #sources at any and all levels of the organization. The fewer the number of reporters covering a team, the less Belichick has to worry about reporters cozying up to people he otherwise needs to trust to zip it.
Still, beyond the Falcons, zip is the key word. It’s amazing to think that a coach like Belichick is available and only one team has interviewed him.
We’ll see if it changes. Five vacancies exist. And, in theory, more could still emerge.