Sports

/

ArcaMax

Marcus Hayes: Did Robert Kraft save Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie from hiring Bill Belichick?

Marcus Hayes, The Philadelphia Inquirer on

Published in Football

PHILADELPHIA — Bill Belichick reportedly was voted off Falcons Island. Apparently, he never even made onto Eagles Island.

Not yet, anyway.

An ESPN.com report published Wednesday recounted, with glee, the repeated rejections fired Patriots coach Bill Belichick endured this offseason during his “Failed Job Hunt,” or so read the headline.

It recounted how, for various reasons, the Panthers, Commanders, Cowboys and Eagles, who might have sniffed around Belichick in the past, didn’t consider him a viable candidate, at least not in this this hiring cycle. Mainly, though, it focused on the Falcons’ interest in Belichick, and how Belichick, who handled personnel decisions in New England, vowed to only attend to coaching if he got the job.

The Falcons didn’t buy it. Not only did they not hire Belichick — they hired Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris — but when the Falcons’ brain trust voted on which candidate it preferred, Belichick “didn’t finish in anyone’s top three,” the story said.

Said one source: “He was essentially voted off the island.”

 

Did he ever set foot on Eagles Island?

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie indicated at the owners’ meetings that, even after a 1-6 finish, including a first-round playoff exit, he never lost faith in coach Nick Sirianni and does not consider him to be on the hot seat: “... no. I mean, I think Nick has all the ingredients, as I’ve said, I’m just really excited about this coming season.”

The ESPN.com story casts a shadow of doubt on that:

"Owner Jeffrey Lurie and general manager Howie Roseman, both Belichick fans, still strongly believed in their current head coach, Nick Sirianni, who over a stretch went 26-5. But Lurie thought it was worth asking a confidant of his about Belichick. A source close to Belichick said the coach would have been interested."

...continued

swipe to next page

©2024 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus