ATLANTA — As the search for the Atlanta Falcons’ new head coach continues, the organization confirmed Monday that they have interviewed former Patriots coach Bill Belichick.

The news comes after Belichick, a six-time Super Bowl champion as a head coach, was recently let go from the Patriots.

The Falcons started the interview process last week, initially interviewing Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, a former University of Georgia assistant.

Per NFL protocols, interviews with employees from other organizations must be conducted virtually before the conclusion of Divisional Playoff games on Sunday, Jan. 21.

Starting Jan. 22, the Falcons will be allowed to conduct in-person or virtual interviews with candidates who are employed by other NFL clubs whose seasons have concluded and are prohibited from conducting initial interviews with candidates who are employed by clubs participating in the Conference Championship Games until the conclusion of the employer club’s season.

The Falcons fired Arthur Smith a week ago after his third consecutive 7-10 season.

The next day, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank and CEO Rich McKay addressed the media for nearly 90 minutes, revealing that they had a two-hour meeting with Smith after their loss to the Saints in the team’s final game of the season before deciding to part ways.

Blank said the decision to fire Smith didn’t necessarily come down to one specific issue.

“Obviously not a snap decision. It’s one that you continue to ruminate on as the season goes on. What’s our record against winning teams? What’s our record against losing teams? Our record against losing teams this year was abysmal honestly,” Blank said. “Lots of reasons. But we lost a bunch of games we probably should not have lost.”

Blank said General Manager Terry Fontenot, who was in not attendance during the news conference, will be “heavily involved” in the process going forward as will others.

But Blank will have the final decision on the next head coach. The Falcons owner stressed there is no timetable for when that will be.

WSB-TV’s Mikaela Thomas contributed to this story

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