The Falcons have a new president of football in Matt Ryan, who landed the job on Jan. 10 despite a lack of front office experience. The former Falcons and Colts quarterback and ex-CBS analyst immediately took on the task of finding a new general manager and head coach for Atlanta. Both positions are vacant after owner Arthur Blank fired Terry Fontenot and Raheem Morris on the heels of a second straight 8-9 season.<\/p>\n
The Falcons\u2019 head coach and GM searches are occurring concurrently, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The team would prefer to hire a head coach before a GM, though, Albert Breer of SI.com says. That isn\u2019t a surprise, as Ryan is already in place as the de facto GM.
\nBlank said last week that Ryan has \u201cfinal decision-making authority,\u201d meaning he\u2019ll outrank Fontenot\u2019s replacement. However, Ryan insists Atlanta\u2019s next GM will not be a figurehead.
\n\u201cThe final decisions that I am going to have to make is who we hire, but we are empowering (the HC and GM) to go out there and do their job and I have expressed that in the interviews that we have had,\u201d Ryan stated (via Josh Kendall of The Athletic).
\nRyan hasn\u2019t conducted any GM interviews, but some of the candidates he beat out for his job may be in the running, per Ledbetter. Lions chief operating officer Mike Disner, Panthers executive vice president of operations Brandt Tilis, 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams, and Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham interviewed for the president of football position. Those meetings also counted as GM interviews, Dianna Russini of The Athletic reports (via Scott Bair of Marquee Sports). It\u2019s unclear if the Falcons will hold more discussions with anyone from that group.
\nTurning to the Falcons\u2019 head coaching search, Blank revealed that Ryan has led the interviews (via Ledbetter). Ryan has met with eight candidates so far, including John Harbaugh, but he\u2019ll come off the board when he finalizes an agreement with the Giants. Here\u2019s the entire group the Falcons have considered so far, courtesy of PFR\u2019s HC Search Tracker:<\/p>\n
Aden Durde, defensive coordinator (Seahawks): Interviewed 1\/10
\nEjiro Evero, defensive coordinator (Panthers): Interview requested
\nJeff Hafley, defensive coordinator (Packers): Interviewed 1\/15
\nJohn Harbaugh, former head coach (Ravens): Interviewed 1\/12; second interview canceled
\nVance Joseph, defensive coordinator (Broncos): Interview requested
\nKlint Kubiak, offensive coordinator (Seahawks):\u00a0Interviewed 1\/10
\nMike McDaniel, former head coach (Dolphins): Interviewed 1\/12
\nJesse Minter, defensive coordinator (Chargers): Interviewed 1\/15
\nAntonio Pierce, former head coach (Raiders): To interview
\nRobert Saleh, defensive coordinator (49ers): Interview requested
\nKevin Stefanski, former head coach (Browns): Interviewed 1\/11; seen as a frontrunner
\nAnthony Weaver, defensive coordinator (Dolphins): Interviewed 1\/10<\/p>\n
Coaches with defensive backgrounds comprise the majority of the list. That\u2019s OK with Ryan, who said he\u2019s not pushing for an offensive-minded hire (via Kendall). When Ryan makes his pick, he won\u2019t meddle into how that individuals puts together a coaching staff. Rather, Blank said Ryan will enable the coach to pick his assistants, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports relays. Blank has made it clear he\u2019d prefer for the next head coach to retain defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. However, if Morris\u2019 successor doesn\u2019t want to keep Ulbrich, it seems he\u2019ll be allowed to hire a different D-coordinator.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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