The New England Patriots are denying a report that the team and owner Robert Kraft dissuaded Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank from hiring Bill Belichick for the team's previously open head coaching vacancy.
In a lengthy article published Wednesday, one day after Belichick's 72nd birthday, ESPN detailed the end of Belichick's relationship with Kraft and the Patriots brain trust, culminating with the decision in January for both the mutually part ways. According to ESPN, citing anonymous sources, Blank held two phone conversations with Kraft in January about Belichick's potential fit as Atlanta's head coach, once Belichick became available as a head coaching candidate for the first time in more than two decades.