When Robert Kraft and Bill Belichick announced that the legendary head coach would not be on the Patriots sideline in 2024, it was expected that he would have a number of opportunities to return to the sidelines and pursue the NFL record for coaching victories. However, several weeks after that announcement, it seems quite likely that Belichick will not have that chance in 2024. The closest he came to finding that new job was an interview with Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank.

While the two men had discussions about the head coaching position, the Falcons and Belichick did not come to an agreement about the job. Instead, they hired Raheem Morris for the position. The belief among a number of high-placed media sources was that Belichick's desire for full control of all personnel decisions prevented Blank from hiring the former Patriots boss.

However, Blank said that discussions never got to the point that Belichick asked for control of personnel or any other aspect of the organization.

“Bill Belichick never asked in our discussions for full control of personnel or anything else in the building…. all of these things that were being produced by the media were totally not true.”

However, even if discussions never got to that point, it had to be a factor in the decision-making process.

The 71-year-old Belichick made all the personnel decisions for the Patriots, and he is clearly established in the way he coaches and runs his organization. Even if he sounded a positive tone about collaboration with others in the organization, it would be very difficult for Belichick to make changes at this point in his career.