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Nick Saban retires, Bill Belichick departs in whirlwind 24 hours (1:28)
Watch the best reactions to Alabama coach Nick Saban retiring and longtime coach Bill Belichick parting ways with the Patriots in a whirlwind 24 hours. (1:28)
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Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff WriterJan 19, 2024, 08:27 PM ET
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- Michael Rothstein is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN. Rothstein covers the Atlanta Falcons. You can follow him via Twitter @MikeRothstein.
ATLANTA — Bill Belichick has had a busy week with the Atlanta Falcons, having now met with members of the organization twice in the past week.
The Falcons fired Arthur Smith after three seasons on Jan. 8. Belichick is the first candidate to have two interviews for the job, finishing his second interview on Friday.
The 71-year-old has had no other reported interviews as he tries to find a new landing spot after parting ways with the New England Patriots last week after 24 seasons with the club, 17 AFC East titles and six Super Bowl titles.
One of those Super Bowl wins came at the expense of the Falcons, as the Patriots rallied from a 28-3 deficit to beat Atlanta, 34-28 in overtime, in Super Bowl LI for Belichick’s fifth title as a head coach. His last Super Bowl win came over the Los Angeles Rams at Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta.
Belichick is third on the regular-season wins list (302) behind George Halas (318) and Don Shula (328) and second on the all-time wins list (333) behind Shula’s 347. He already holds the NFL record for most postseason wins, with 31.
Belichick has coached in the third-most games all time, with 467, behind Shula (490) and Halas (497) and is also tied with Dan Reeves and Jeff Fisher for the most losses by a NFL head coach, with 165. He holds a 302-165 regular-season record and a 31-13 playoff record — eight wins better than Andy Reid, in second place with 23.
His .705 playoff winning percentage is fifth among coaches with at least 10 playoff games coached, and his .647 winning percentage is No. 18 all time.
Belichick is not the only candidate to have interviewed in Atlanta. Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn interviewed virtually Friday. The Falcons have now interviewed Baltimore defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald and assistant head coach Anthony Weaver, Cincinnati offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, San Francisco defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, Carolina defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, Philadelphia offensive coordinator Brian Johnson and University of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh.
Sources told ESPN’s Jeff Darlington that the Falcons are also expected to interview former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel on Wednesday.
Any coach currently employed by a club is required to interview virtually until Monday, when teams can start interviewing those potential candidates in person provided their seasons have ended.
