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Bill Belichick didn’t ask for ‘full control’ of Atlanta Falcons, owner Arthur Blank says

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Bill Belichick didn’t ask for ‘full control’ of Atlanta Falcons, owner Arthur Blank says


Bill Belichick didn’t ask to be the boss.

Running the Falcons’ front office in the same way he did the Patriots’ wasn’t a requirement for Belichick as he interviewed for Atlanta’s head coaching job, team owner Arthur Blank said.

“Bill Belichick never asked for, in our discussions, full control of the personnel or the building or anything of that nature,” Blank told reporters Friday.

“He was very inclusive, very collaborative. He met [Falcons general manager] Terry Fontenot. He checked out our people, doing his own references. He sent me a private text, which I eventually shared with Terry, that he was happy working with him. … All of these things that were being produced by the media were totally not true.”

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Belichick, 71, interviewed twice with the Falcons, including a one-on-one meeting with the Queens-born Blank.

Many considered Belichick, a six-time Super Bowl champion in his 24 seasons as New England head coach, a favorite for the Falcons job, though Atlanta ultimately chose Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.

Belichick operated as the Patriots’ general manager throughout his tenure, which ended last month in what he and owner Robert Kraft described as a mutual decision. The Patriots made the playoffs only once in the four seasons after quarterback Tom Brady left and bottomed out in 2023 with a disastrous 4-13 campaign featuring one of the league’s worst offenses.

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank on Jan. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

“He’s got his history,” Blank said. “He has a way of doing things, etc., which were very, very successful. You could debate, is that true the last four years or so? Might be a little different picture, but there’s a lot of stories behind a lot of things. I think it was a very good series of interviews with him.”

Belichick’s continued unemployment remains a surprise, and there aren’t any NFL head coaching jobs currently open. His 333 wins between the regular season and postseason rank second in NFL history, behind only the 347 compiled by Don Shula.

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Belichick also spoke with the Washington Commanders and “had support from some decision makers” about their vacancy, according to The Athletic, before they hired Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.

The Falcons fired Arthur Smith as head coach last month after a 21-30 record over three seasons — a tenure largely defined by a frustratingly conservative offense in which top-10 draft picks Kyle Pitts, Drake London and Bijan Robinson failed to flourish.

Morris spent six years on the Falcons’ staff from 2015-20, serving as defensive coordinator and interim head coach in the last of those seasons. Blank described Morris’ leadership over those years as a “20” on a scale of 1-10 and said his candidacy improved after spending three years with the Rams.

“Today, he’s still a 20. That hasn’t changed,” Blank said. “What I did see change: The three years he had in L.A., where he worked with a different coaching environment, a different kind of setup, which [head coach] Sean McVay operates differently than a lot of other coaches do … was a learning experience for him.”





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Atlanta, GA

Bill Belichick takes in girlfriend Jordon Hudson’s Atlanta cheerleading competition

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Bill Belichick takes in girlfriend Jordon Hudson’s Atlanta cheerleading competition


She’s cheer captain, and he’s in the bleachers. 

Bill Belichick was in Atlanta over the weekend to cheer on his 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, during a cheerleading competition, TMZ reported. 

Hudson was competing for Code Black, which she cheered for in a Cheer Extreme All-Stars event in Raleigh, North Carolina, in November.

Belichick sported a button-down shirt, jeans and a Navy submarine cap, while Hudson donned the Code Black uniform, as did the rest of her teammates. 

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Jordon Hudson performed with Code Black in Atlanta over the week, with boyfriend Bill Belichick among the spectators. Instagram / milllies.camera

Photos published by the outlet showed the two all smiles as they stood next to one another. 

Hudson had also posted a video of part of the routine Code Black performed during the first day of the competition. 

Belichick has not been shy about supporting his younger paramour since their relationship became public over the summer of 2024. 

The University of North Carolina football coach, and six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach, attended the cheer competition in November and was there to support Hudson at the Miss Maine USA pageant earlier this year. 

Hudson has been there to support Belichick throughout his first season at the helm at UNC, which drew plenty of headlines off the field. 

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Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson at the NFL Honors.
Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson in 2025. AP

The relationship between the 73-year-old and Hudson has generated plenty of interest and drama, aside from Belichick going 4-8 in his first season at UNC and repeated questions about whether he would leave the football program. Belichick ended up making major staff changes after the season.

Hudson created waves earlier this year when she stepped in during a “CBS Sunday Morning” interview when Belichick was asked how the pair met, creating weeks of headlines. 

More recently, she has been in a back-and-forth with investigative sports journalist Pablo Torre – at one point claiming she would sue him – and last month The Post reported that Jen Belichick, the daughter-in-law of Bill – went on a nearly hour-long rant in the coach’s office about Hudson and how she was “f–king twisting” Belichick’s brain. 





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Security tightened for Hanukkah celebrations across metro Atlanta after Sydney mass shooting

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Security tightened for Hanukkah celebrations across metro Atlanta after Sydney mass shooting


ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Dozens of Hanukkah celebrations across metro Atlanta will go on as scheduled this week.

Security is now top priority following the brutal shooting that killed 15 people at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.

“Of course the minute the news came out from Australia we were in touch with our law enforcement partners,” said Renee Kutner, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. “We went back through the plans. We amped them up where we needed to. People will see extra patrols around, not because there’s threats but because we just want to make sure everybody knows that they’re safe.”

The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta says it spends millions of dollars every year securing its community against antisemitic attacks.

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“We are so blessed to have really, really great relationships with law enforcement at every level across metro Atlanta and throughout Georgia,” Kutner said. “And we’ve been in contact with all of them. They are so supportive and they will be at our events – they will amp up the security.”

According to Kutner, the heightened security is out of an abundance of caution.

“We have no credible threats, no reason to believe that lone actors somewhere else will affect anything here, and we want to give our community the chance to celebrate,” Kutner said.

RELATED COVERAGE:

Australia to tighten gun laws after Bondi Beach Hanukkah massacre leaves 15 dead

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Bystander shown in videos disarming gunman during Australian beach shooting commended for bravery

Father and son gunmen kill at least 15 people in attack on Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach



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Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers Announce Starting Lineups For Tonight’s Game

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Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers Announce Starting Lineups For Tonight’s Game


The Hawks would love to forget Friday’s embarrassing loss to the Detroit Pistons.

After an entertaining first quarter, Atlanta was dominated over the final three quarters and ended up losing by 27 points to the top team in the Eastern Conference. They are hoping for a quick bounce back today at home vs Philadelphia and will could use a win to get back on track.

The game is getting closer to tipoff and both teams have announced their starting lineups:

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Hawks

G-Nickeil Alexander-Walker

G- Dyson Daniels

F- Zaccharie Risacher

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F- Jalen Johnson

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C- Onyeka Okongwu

76ers

G- Quentin Grimes

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G- VJ Edgecombe

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F- Paul George

F- Dominick Barlow

C- Joel Embiid

Deeper look at Atlanta

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Dec 5, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) shoots against the Denver Nuggets in the first quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

When previewing the game this morning, our own Rohan Raman took a deeper look at the Hawks’ advanced numbers today:

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“Atlanta’s offense has been surprisingly solid without Trae Young, but the Pistons game was a poor showing. The Hawks are 12th in points, 10th in FG%, 10th in 3P%, 17th in FT%, 25th in rebounds (24th in OREB, 22nd in DREB), 1st in assists, and 18th in turnovers per game. They’re 16th in offensive rating this year.

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On a per-game basis, the Hawks’ defense rank 21st in points allowed, 18th in FG% allowed, 9th in 3P% allowed, 23rd in rebounds allowed, 4th in steals, and 12th in blocks. They’re 14th in defensive rating on the year, which puts them in a slightly above-average tier despite their recent run of poor performance on end.

Philadelphia is still figuring out how their offense operates when everyone is healthy, but Tyrese Maxey is always dangerous and they quietly have a reasonably deep roster. They’re 16th in points, 24th in FG%, 17th in 3P%, 6th in FT%, 9th in rebounds (10th in OREB, 9th in DREB), 20th in assists, and 11th in turnovers per game. They’re 15th in offensive rating this season.

After a difficult night against a tough Detroit defense, the matchup gets slightly easier against the 76ers. Even so, they’ve been playing good defense as of late – albeit against poor competition. They are 12th in points allowed, 8th in FG% allowed, 8th in 3P% allowed, 21st in rebounds allowed, 19th in steals, and 2nd in blocks. They’re 9th in defensive rating, so this would be the second straight game for the Hawks against a top-ten defense by defensive rating.”

Because they are at home and will have the best player on the floor, I like the Hawks to win this game. Quentin Grimes is someone who has given the Hawks trouble before, and rookie VJ Edgecombe has had a great start to his career. Still, I like Johnson and Onyeka Okongwu to lead the Hawks to a win today at home.

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