Just when it seemed like the Atlanta Falcons were zeroing in on former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick — potentially with a large contingent of his former coaching staff in New England coming to Atlanta with him — to become their new head coach, now the equivalent of a bucket of cold water is being thrown on the idea, at least for the time being.

“Falcons are interviewing Texans’ OC Bobby Slowik today. They also will be meeting this week with Mike Vrabel and Jim Harbaugh in person, and scheduling other in-person head-coaching interviews as well,” according to a tweet from ESPN's NFL insider Adam Schefter. “Their HC search is said to be ‘wide open.'”

That last part is the aforementioned hypothetical bucket of cold water. From the time Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots announced that they would be parting ways, Belichick's name has been linked to the Falcons job more so than any other opening. The prospect of Belichick not only coaching in Atlanta, but assuming the same sort of de facto general manager role he occupied in New England is a big reason why there was mutual interest between the two parties. However, it's possible that the Falcons would be receptive to giving the same sort of total control over the franchise to either Jim Harbaugh or Mike Vrabel.

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Given Belichick's age (71) in comparison to Jim Harbaugh (60) and Mike Vrabel (48), it's reasonable that the Falcons would do their due diligence inquiring with younger coaches who could theoretically have longer lasting careers in Atlanta than Belichick could. The 36-year-old Bobby Slowik falls into that category too. Has Bill Belichick lost his fast ball? Many Patriots fans would tell you there's been a decline in Belichick's genius even before Tom Brady left New England. Can Belichick win at the highest level without a franchise quarterback? That's worth thinking about too, given the fact that Belichick's career record in games coached without Tom Brady as his quarterback is below .500.

My gut tells me Belichick still winds up being the choice for the Falcons, with Atlanta finding a way to secure their franchise quarterback either in the NFL Draft, through free agency, or via trade. Even if Belichick is in Atlanta for only a handful of years before retiring, he could establish a culture in Atlanta in that time and leave the Falcons franchise in a much better place than he found it.