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Mark Raimondi
atlanta-the Falcon Owner Arthur Blank said at a news conference Thursday that he will interview former franchise quarterback Matt Ryan, among others, for a new role called “president of football.”
The president of football position will be appointed first, and Blank is scheduled to interview with several candidates over the next few days. Whoever is hired as president of football will lead interviews for head coach and general manager candidates, Blank said. The Falcons fired head coach Raheem Morris and GM Terry Fontenot on Sunday night.
One of those coaching candidates could be John Harbaugh, who was fired earlier this week Baltimore Ravens,
“John has been one of the most successful coaches in our league over the last 20 years,” Blank said. “He has won at every level. And so, he would definitely be a candidate we would want to spend some time with. Whether or not [he has] There’s any interest in Atlanta, I don’t know.”
The firm Sportsology is assisting in the general manager search, and the firm ZRG Partners will assist in the coaching search. But the president of football will ultimately lead those searches, Blank said, and will oversee both coaches and general managers once they are hired.
Blank said the football president will hold coaches and general managers accountable and will report directly to Blank himself. After filling the roles and deciding who gets the final say, Blank acknowledged that coach and general manager candidates would be reluctant to cede authority to the president of football, so those positions would remain the primary decision-makers in their respective roles.
“Obviously, you still have to hire a great coach, a great general manager and have the president of football not do their job for them at all, but hold them accountable and give input with guidance,” Blank said.
Ryan, 40, has no front office experience. But he was the best player in franchise history, the quarterback who led the Falcons to Super Bowl LI. Blank said he would be considered for the role – and many believed the role was created for him – because of Ryan’s experience leading a football team, as well as his knowledge of the game and the way he works with players and staff.
“His EQ and IQ are exceptionally high when it comes to football,” Blank said of Ryan. “I have known Matt and his family personally since 2008, and he is an outstanding individual, great community leader, and someone we would certainly want to consider for that position.”
Blank made sure to say that other candidates would also be interviewed. The Falcons will announce who they have interviewed after discussions are complete.
Blank said Thursday that his dismissal of Morris and Fontenot was based solely on their performance. He said he felt the Falcons should have accomplished more this season, and that the four-game winning streak to finish the season did not impress him. Blank said the decision to sign a quarterback cancer cousin In 2024, it was subsequently drafted Michael Penix Jr.The No, 8 overall pick six weeks later played no role in his decision,
“There were a lot of peaks and valleys – there were a lot of peaks and valleys – [and] A lot of levels that weren’t consistent over the course of our game,” Blank said. “So, it’s a combination of things over a period of time, but it has nothing to do with decisions that we made collaboratively.”
During the press conference, Blank was asked if he thought Penix was still the team’s franchise quarterback. Penix tore his left ACL in Week 11, missing the remainder of the season, and he will be out for at least nine months. This was Penix’s third ACL surgery in eight seasons; He tore the ACL in his right knee twice in college. Penix had been inconsistent in 12 career starts before the injury. But Blank confirmed that he remains committed to Penix as Atlanta’s franchise QB.
“The injury he suffered was to his other knee,” Blank said. “The surgeon felt 1,000 percent safe in the healing process that he went through, and he felt that his knee was going to be better than it was before. … He’s committed mentally, physically, and he feels good.”
Sportsology was hired months ago by the Falcons to conduct an internal assessment of their football infrastructure. Blank said that what was most surprising about the firm’s findings was the lack of clarity in its vision of how the team should play. This is one reason why the role of Chairman of Football was added. That person will be the one who sets and leads the product vision in the region, Blank said.
“In any industry, if you don’t have clarity about the vision but you’re trying to establish and build, you’re going to have a lot of disparate parts moving in different directions,” Blank said. “And that means you are not only unsuccessful or partially unsuccessful, but you may also be very incompetent. [You must be] Be as laser focused as you can be in terms of what you want to do. You can select players, coaches, coaching staff better and maintain that kind of continuity. And then you modify it all the time based on what’s happening in the game.”
