Bill Belichick has ‘a lot of people working against him’ says FOX NFL analyst Jimmy Johnson… with the former Patriots coach still without a new job after he left New England in January

Former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was sidelined during this year’s NFL coaching carousel. FOX NFL analyst Jimmy Johnson says there’s a reason for that.

Johnson, the former coach of the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins, said he spent time with Belichick in South Florida last week.

Unlike previous reports that claimed Belichick was demanding complete control over team decisions, Johnson told WQAM Radio in Miami that the six-time Super Bowl winner doesn’t need the power that some teams are afraid to give him.

“Some of these owners are a little afraid of him and the general managers and staff of the organization are very afraid of him,” Johnson said.

‘They think that if he comes in they will lose their jobs. Many people work against him.

It is rumored that Belichick sought complete control over personnel wherever he went, such as Atlanta.

Johnson added: “I was surprised he didn’t get more opportunities.” He will have a chance next year.

Belichick interviewed with several teams, including the Falcons twice. Atlanta ultimately opted for Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.

Reports indicated that Falcons CEO Rich McKay and general manager Terry Fontenot advised owner Arthur Blank to choose a candidate other than Belichick for fear of losing their jobs or seeing a reduction in duties.

But Johnson assured that none of those concerns would ever come to light.

“Bill is candid about it,” Johnson said. “He said, ‘Hey, I don’t need to be in charge of everything.'” That’s what happened in New England.

“He kind of fell into that deal, and it’s not necessarily that he pushed for it.” That’s what happened because she was there for so long.

This reflects a similar sentiment from Blank, who denied that the coach demanded more from the team.

“I want to make it 1,000 percent clear. I want to go to 2,000 percent or 100,000, whatever percentage you want to use. Bill Belichick never asked, in our discussions, for complete control over the staff or the building or anything of that nature,” Blank said. to journalists.

But Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank said Belichick didn’t ask for these things.

‘He was very inclusive, very collaborative, he met Terry Fontenot, he checked our people using his own references. He sent me a private text message, which I eventually shared with Terry, saying I’d be happy to work with him.

‘All these things that were being produced by the media were totally false. I don’t say this to be condescending to Bill but to be fair to him. He never had that as a requirement. He has the history of it, he has a way of doing things, etc., that were very, very successful.

“You can debate whether that’s true over the last four years, it might be a different picture, but there are a lot of stories, a lot of things have been learned.”

‘I think it was a very good series of interviews with him. Our people were impressed with him. I was impressed with him, as well as several candidates.

“And we felt, all things considered, for a variety of reasons, that Raheem Morris was clearly the best choice for us.”

Excluding New England, seven teams had coaching vacancies this offseason and all of them have already been filled.