Rich McKay appears to have won the battle against Bill Belichick.
And Arthur Blank took care of McKay to avoid any potential problems that might arise in the future.
McKay, the team's CEO. Escape from the team's daily routine Football operations have been strengthened after owner Arthur Blank selected Raheem Morris over Belichick as the new manager.
He will now take on additional responsibilities across Blank's AMB Sports & Entertainment business, including also managing Blank's MLS team, Atlanta United.
However, head coach and general manager Terry Fontenot will no longer report to him as before. Morris and Fontenot will instead report directly to Blank.
The move appears to protect McKay from being seen as a threat to the next coach.
“It's hard to quantify the positive things Rich has done to impact our organization over the past 21 years. He built a strong foundation for our football team, built Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and led us to the world championships. They made it work as one of the best stadiums around,” Blank said in a statement. “Although he will no longer be involved in day-to-day football operations, Rich's role within our organization will continue to expand and I will be working with him on some of the most important work we are undertaking across the Blank family. We will continue to trust you in our business. ”
When initial reports listed Belichick as the Falcons' top option, rumors surfaced that Belichick had issues with McKay's role with the organization.
General managers and coaches had to report to McKay, which meant that Belichick, perhaps the greatest coach of all time, would report directly to the CEO, but with limited success.
Yahoo reported that In his meeting with Belichick, Belichick said, “The entire spectrum of football operations, personnel and coaching should fall under Mr. Belichick's decision-making umbrella.”
McKay is also the chairman of the league's competition committee, which has had problems with Belichick's Patriots for years.
It's certainly possible that other coaches had issues with McKay's role, and Blank appears to have recognized this issue and decided to protect McKay.
McKay is no longer tied to the football team's on-field successes and failures, the latter plenty throughout the franchise's history and still holding strong under Blank.
With Belichick's departure from the Falcons, sportsbooks now overwhelmingly predict that Belichick will not coach this season.
The remaining vacancies are with the Commanders and Seahawks, but there are no plans to fill either position.
