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 left out in the cold during this year's NFL coaching carousel. FOX NFL analyst Jimmy Johnson says there's a reason for that.

Johnson, a former coach himself with the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins, said that he spent time with Belichick in south Florida last week.

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

'Some of these owners are a little bit afraid of him and the general managers and the personnel people in the organization are really afraid of him,' Johnson said.

'They think that if he comes in they are going to lose their job. A lot of people working against him. 

FOX NFL's Jimmy Johnson believes there's 'people working against' ex-Patriot Bill Belichick

It's rumored Belichick was seeking total control over personnel wherever he went, like Atlanta

Johnson added, 'I was shocked he didn't get some more opportunities. He'll get an opportunity next year.'

Belichick interviewed with multiple teams - including the Falcons twice. Atlanta eventually went with Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.

Reports indicated Falcons CEO Rich McKay and GM Terry Fontenot counseled owner Arthur Blank to choose a candidate other than Belichick over concerns that they might lose their jobs or see a reduction in their roles.

But Johnson assured that neither of those concerns would ever come to light. 

'Bill is upfront about it,' Johnson said. 'He said, 'Hey, I don't need to be in charge of everything.' That's what happened up 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 he was there for so long.'

That mirrors similar sentiment from Blank, who denied that the coach demanded more from the team.

'I do want to make it 1,000 percent clear — I want to go to 2,000 percent or 100,000, whatever percent you want to use — Bill Belichick never asked for, in our discussions, full control over personnel or the building or anything of that nature,' Blank told reporters. 

But Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank said that Belichick didn't ask for these things

'He was very inclusive, very collaborative, he met Terry Fontenot, he checked out our people using his own references. He sent me a private text, which I eventually shared with Terry, that he'd be happy working with him.

'All these things that were being produced by the media were totally not true. I say it not to patronize Bill but to be fair to him. He never had that as a requirement. He's got his history, he has a way of doing things, etc., which were very, very successful. 

'You can debate if that's true the last four years or so, might be a different picture, but there's a lot of stories, learned a lot of things.

'I think it was a very good series of interviews with him. Our folks were impressed with him. I was impressed with him, as well as a number of candidates. 

'And we just 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 now been filled.