Report: NFC South Teams Interested In Patriots' Bill Belichick, Falcons Included?

With multiple NFC South teams interested in New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, could the legend end up with the Atlanta Falcons next season?

At this point, it's hard to argue that the NFC South isn't the worst division in the NFL right now.

None of the four teams have a winning record heading into Week 18, yet all of them, except for the Carolina Panthers at a league-worst 2-14, can win the division. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers can win it just by beating the Panthers on Sunday, but if they lose, then the winner of the Atlanta Falcons-New Orleans Saints game will take the crown.

With all four NFC South teams having less-than-stellar seasons, none of their coaches are exactly secure in their futures. Carolina already fired Frank Reich in the middle of his first season, and there's plenty of doubts about Atlanta's Arthur Smith, New Orleans' Dennis Allen and Tampa Bay's Todd Bowles.

Bill Belichick, Arthur Smith

 With all four teams possibly open to some sort of shakeup, it's not too surprising that multiple of them are interested in longtime New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, per CBS Sports' Josina Anderson.

Belichick has guided the Patriots to unprecedented success over his 24 years with the team, but with the team falling to the bottom of the AFC this season, there's a very real chance his time in New England is running out. If so, and if Anderson's report is correct, then maybe he could come down south for his next chapter.

The question after that is what teams in the division could be the ones interested in Belichick. Could he follow in his former quarterback Tom Brady's footsteps and come to Tampa Bay? Or maybe an opportunity in the Bayou to try and squeeze another run out of the Saints is interesting to Belichick?

Of the four, though, Atlanta may be the most interesting destination for the six-time Super Bowl champion. The Falcons have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball, but deficiencies at coach and quarterback have held them back from their full potential. Belichick would certainly fix one of those problems, and with his reputation, solving the other one shouldn't be hard.

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That said, Carolina may be the team with the most genuine interest in Belichick. For one, the Panthers are the only team that currently has a coaching vacancy, but it goes deeper than that. A report in late November indicated that the Panthers had "serious" interest in Belichick, and with owner David Tepper being one of the richest owners in football, it wouldn't be too surprising to see him make a big splash hire to turn his franchise around.

Regardless of where he ends up, Belichick is shaping up to be one of the biggest stories of the entire offseason.