The Falcons have been at the forefront of news cycles for the past two offseasons. Last year, it was their declaration of having no interest in Lamar Jackson. This year, it was their interest in Bill Belichick.
Mike Sando of The Athletic likened the two situations. Though on the surface it doesn’t make much sense, as Sando explains, there’s a connection. The Athletic pundit begins with an overarching statement that encompasses his point.
“Bill Belichick’s situation now resembles Lamar Jackson’s predicament last offseason. It also reflects a hiring cycle that favored existing front-office power structures.”
When the Ravens placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Jackson, it left the door open for teams to negotiate a contract with the quarterback. If Baltimore didn’t match the offer, the Falcons, or any other club, would then surrender two first-round picks for Jackson.
It seems quite simple if you think about it. Make an offer that the Ravens can’t stomach, part ways with two first-rounders, and secure your franchise quarterback. Simple, right? Wrong, as Sando explains.
“We recently made the case that when teams decided against pursuing Jackson as a franchise player last offseason, they were not choosing their own lesser quarterbacks over the Ravens’ decorated starter. These teams preferred Jackson, but they weren’t comfortable with the package that would have come along with acquiring him. That package would have included signing Jackson to an over-the-top contract Baltimore wouldn’t match, in addition to handing over two first-round draft choices.”
The contract necessary to discourage the Ravens from matching would be so astronomically high that it wouldn’t make sense for the acquiring team. Combine that with a couple of first-round picks, and the price seems even less appealing. “The point was: Teams could like Jackson without liking what it would have taken to land him,” Sando added.
A similar dynamic occurred with the Falcons pursuit of Bill Belichick. Like many others, I assumed the autonomy he enjoyed in New England wouldn’t be a pre-requisite to hiring him, but that wasn’t the case. Belichick didn’t just come as a head coach; he came with a lot of luggage.
“A similar situation unfolded with Belichick and the eight teams looking for new coaches this offseason. Those teams knew Belichick was more qualified than other candidates. They were not interested in the package that went along with hiring him: handing over full control of football operations.”
Everyone and their mothers expected the Falcons to hire Bill Belichick. They were the only team to interview him, Arthur Blank was reportedly enamored with the idea, but internal pressure forced Atlanta’s owner toward Raheem Morris.
“If I were an owner, I would interview Bill for two days, six hours per day, just to learn football,” an exec from another team told Sando. “And the whole time, I’m thinking, ‘Do I want to change my structure?’”
Albert Breer reported that Arthur Blank wanted to hire Bill Belichick the “head coach” while not taking on all of the other titles that came with him. The coaching staff was always going to be overhauled, as Morris has done, but it was the rest of the staff that would’ve experienced turnover with Belichick.
It’s comparing apples to oranges, but I think it’s an interesting comparison that the Falcons weren’t comfortable painting outside of the lines in both instances.
Arthur Blank didn’t want to go against the grain of his fellow owners by offering a Deshaun Watson-esque deal to acquire Lamar Jackson, and the Falcons owner didn’t want to put his people out of a job within the organization by acquiring Bill Belichick.
Both were the easier options, but they may not have been the right ones.
—
Photographer: Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire
You must log in to post a comment.