Atlanta Falcons owner and president Arthur Blank said the last few years simply haven’t been good enough.
“Good is the enemy of good and I think we are capable of reaching another level,” Blank said at a news conference Thursday.
After making the decision Sunday night to fire head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot, Blank also replaced CEO Rich McKay with Greg Beadles, reassigning McKay to a role within the Arthur M. Blank Sports and Entertainment organization.
The changes come after Morris recorded 8-9 consecutive seasons. Fontenot oversaw a 37-48 record in five seasons. Atlanta owns the second-longest playoff drought in the NFL, missing its eighth straight series to match eight straight losing seasons.
Blank, 83, a team owner since 2002, was not swayed by a season-ending four-game winning streak in terms of extending the leashes for Morris and Fontenot.
“As the season went on, I concluded that we weren’t reaching the level that I thought this team was capable of performing at,” Blank said. “I have a lot of respect and affection for Raheem, whom I have known for 11 years, and for Terry for five years.”
Among the steps taken, Blank decided to add a football president role to the organization. In a letter to fans Monday, the role is defined as that of a leader who will “define the vision and identity of our team.”
“The person we are trying to hire will be responsible for everything related to field football,” Blank said. “The general manager and head coach will report directly to this person, who will report to me.”
According to Blank, the football president will be hired before the coaching and general manager positions are filled. Blank confirmed reports that former Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan would be among the candidates interviewed for the role.
“Matt is someone that we’ve had a long relationship with, that we’ve continued to talk to, he’s one of the candidates that we’re going to be interviewing,” Blank said. “Matt Ryan came into the league as a rookie in 2008 and ended up leading a 53-person locker room for 14 years. His football IQ is extraordinarily high. He’s the type of person you would definitely want to consider for this position, but we also have other candidates that we will be interviewing over the next few days.”
Midway through the Falcons’ 8-9 season, the team hired a consulting firm, Sportsology, to conduct an assessment of the health of the entire football operation. Sportsology and ZRG Partners – another consulting firm – will help with the head coach and general manager search.
The 2025 campaign was marred by a torn ACL in quarterback Michael Penix Jr. on November 16. Penix, who was drafted No. 8 overall in 2024 just months after Atlanta signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract, is 4-8 in 12 career starts and has thrown 12 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing just 59.6 percent of his passes.
With Penix unlikely to be ready for the start of the 2026 season and Cousins’ future in Atlanta uncertain, Blank is standing by his oft-injured quarterback.
“I think Michael is our franchise quarterback,” Blank said. “He’s going through a successful rehab program, he’s back in Atlanta, he’s engaged mentally, physically, he feels good. … We’re looking forward to having Michael back, he had a good surgery, we talked to the medical staff, it seems to have gone well. With Kirk, we’ll see what happens to him in the future.”
With the Miami Dolphins parting ways with Mike McDaniel on Thursday, there are now eight head coaching positions available. The Baltimore Ravens made the bold decision to move on from John Harbaugh after an 8-9 season, making him an attractive name for Blank and company.
“John has been one of the most successful coaches of the last 20 years in our league and he would certainly be a candidate we would want to spend time with. Whether or not he would be interested in Atlanta, I don’t know,” Blank said. “I read earlier today that he won’t be taking any interviews this week. He’ll probably start in the coming week and I’m sure we’ll have him in our cycle, assuming he’s willing to give us an interview.”
The Falcons are expected to speak with recently fired Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski. The team has requested interviews with Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver.
–Field level media
