How caught off guard was Bill Belichick by not getting a head coaching job this offseason?

Earlier this week, Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham dropped an explosive bombshell report detailing the reasons why Bill Belichick, considered by some to be the GOAT gridiron coach, found himself unemployed as the coaching carousel came to a stop.

The report surprised many, including Mike Golic Jr. and Mike Golic Sr. on GoJo and Golic, which can be seen weekday mornings from 8-10 a.m. ET on DraftKings Network.

Wickersham and Van Natta joined Andrew Brandt on his Business of Sports podcast on the Ross Tucker Podcast network to discuss their findings in more detail.

Brandt asks Wickersham and Van Natta if they were surprised that Belichick wasn’t able to land a job. Wickersham says yes and no. He says one of the reasons they decided to dig deeper was the shock at the fact Belichick didn’t land one of the seven open jobs this offseason, especially considering he interviewed twice with the Falcons. Furthermore, Wickersham says it was half a sincere look and half out of respect. Wickersham says at the end of the day, you wonder even if Belichick will wind up with a job next year either as he’s something of a fixed quantity. We know who he is, what his style is. This is really an ownership story, in the ways owners perceive people, make decisions, they way they hire people, Wickersham says.

Van Natta says he was stunned that Belichick only got one look. And moreover, the only place that gave him a look was Atlanta, and not one of the old school franchises that appeal to Belichick’s sense of history. Even amidst the jokes about Belichick interviewing the Falcons rather than the other way around, Van Natta says Belichick still as of the morning Raheem Morris would be hired thought the job was his. Van Natta says the fact that Belichick was as stunned as the rest of us to get passed over in Atlanta was really interesting.

One particularly noteworthy nugget in the reporting by Wickersham and Van Natta was the notion that Patriots owner Robert Kraft reportedly undermined Belichick with Falcons owner Arthur Blank, going so far as telling Blank that Belichick was someone who couldn’t be trusted

Even beyond that, Wickersham says he doesn’t think Belichick even knew he was outside the Falcons’ top three candidates before the ESPN report came out. He wasn’t even in the top three for ANY of the Falcons executives, according to Van Natta.

Check out more of Andrew’s conversation with Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham below and make sure to tune into the Ross Tucker Podcast and on DraftKings Network! See more about how to watch DraftKings Network here.

SHOW BREAKDOWN

Bill Belichick deep dive with Don Van Natta Jr. & Seth Wickersham

• Andrew is joined by ESPN’s Don Van Natta Jr. & Seth Wickersham to discuss their latest article breaking down what happened with Bill Belichick during this latest coaching cycle.

Check out the Ross Tucker YouTube page for more and subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the show on X at @rosstuckerpod and Ross at @rosstuckernfl.

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