Patriots News: Bill Belichick, Kendrick Bourne, DeMarcus Covington & Malik Cunningham

Catch up with the latest news surrounding the New England Patriots ahead of the Championship slate of games.

Adam Vinatieri is "bewildered" about Bill Belichick remaining jobless this offseason

One of the most surprising stories of the last several weeks has surrounded Bill Belichick's future, which appeared on track to be in Atlanta. But after a hot start with several interviews, the meetings with the Falcons fizzled out, and the team ultimately went in a different direction with their head coach.

Reports indicated that Belichick was moving in the right direction and was the frontrunner to become the Falcons' next head coach. So when it was announced that more interviews were taking place and Raheem Morris was eventually hired last week, there was a lot of shock about their decision to pass on the 8-time Super Bowl Champion coach.

Former players, including legendary kicker Adam Vinatieri, also share that feeling. Vinatieri recently spoke about his bewilderment at seeing his old coach remain available on "Up & Adams" with host Kay Adams and fellow former Patriot Rob Gronkowski.

"It bewilders me to be honest with you. I really thought when they made that decision, he would have four, five teams that would be a good fit. The ones that I thought potentially could have been a good fit for him, they’re not there or they went in a different direction. It’s interesting, to say the least. But even if he decides on the Atlanta job or if there’s not an opportunity for this year, I don’t think he’ll sit very long. I think the opportunities will come for him. Like I said, I personally haven’t talked to him about his plans, but I’m pretty sure he still wants to get that record.”

Obviously, since speaking about this, the Falcons' job has been filled, and the two remaining head coach vacancies, the Commanders and Seahawks are reportedly not intending to pursue Belichick.

That could mean the longtime Patriots coach could be out of the NFL for the 2024 season, which was completely unexpected.