GOAT Watch

Bill Belichick is reportedly on the verge of becoming the next Atlanta Falcons head coach.

Belichick, the six-time Super Bowl champion, dined with Falcons owner Arthur Blank after flying in Thursday night on one of Blank’s private jets for a second interview, per The Athletic:

The Atlanta Falcons have Bill Belichick as their top candidate, flying him into Atlanta on one of Arthur Blank's private planes last night.
Dinner last night, more meetings to come, per multiple sources.

— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) January 19, 2024

The former Patriots head coach is 26 wins away from tying Don Shula for the most wins in NFL history.

GETTY IMAGES: Bill Belichick is meeting with the Atlanta Faclons for their head coaching position.

The Falcons have also interviewed Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson, University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks, Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan, Ravens defensive coordinator Mike McDonald, Ravens assistant head coach/defensive line coach Anthony Weaver, and Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, per the team:

We will be announcing head coach interviews when they’re completed

For all updates on our coaching search, we’ve got you covered here ⬇️

— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) January 11, 2024

Atlanta would be the third team for Belichick, who was head coach of the Cleveland Browns from 1991-1995 before becoming Patriots head coach in 2000.

Belichick, 71, won his first Super Bowl in his second season as Patriots head coach and then won five more with three other Super Bowl losses (once to the Eagles, twice to the Giants).

His six rings are most by an NFL head coach, along with his 31 playoff victories.

Raiders Keep Their Guy

After serving as interim head coach, Antonio Pierce will get a shot at the full-time job for the Las Vegas Raiders, per ESPN.

Raiders are working to finalize a deal to hire Antonio Pierce as their head coach, per sources.

Raiders made Pierce their interim HC on Halloween night and now are closing in on making it a full-time job. Players who campaigned for Pierce soon are expected to be happy. pic.twitter.com/OAJTur9ZJ0

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 19, 2024

Pierce entered the season as the team’s linebackers coach, promoted to head coach following the firing of Josh McDaniels on Oct. 31. 

With Pierce at the helm, a re-energized Raiders team finished with a 5-4 record, winning three of their last four games.

Several players went to bat for AP to keep the job full-time, most notably two-time All-Pro edge rusher Maxx Crosby. 

#HireAP

— 🦅MaddMaxx🦅 (@CrosbyMaxx) January 12, 2024

The Raiders have yet to hire a full-time general manager following the firing of Dave Ziegler on the same day as McDaniels. Their interim general manager, Champ Kelly, had reportedly been involved with the head coaching process and is currently meeting with the team.

I'm told interim general manager Champ Kelly is in a meeting with #Raiders brass as we speak, per source. pic.twitter.com/fxqMYKTgK5

— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) January 19, 2024

– Geoff Mosher and Benjamin Paul contributed to this report for InsideTheBirds.com.