Falcons evaluate Matt Ryan as football president: Details and plans

Falcons in Search of New Leadership: Matt Ryan in the Running

The Atlanta Falcons team is in full restructuring. The team owner, Arthur Blank, announced that several candidates will be interviewed for the position of “president of football”, including former star quarterback Matt Ryan. The priority is to fill this position, and the chosen one will lead the interviews for the head coach and general manager roles, following the dismissal of Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot. One of the possible head coaches could be John Harbaugh, who was recently fired by the Ravens.

“John has been one of the most successful coaches in the last 20 years in our league. He has won at all levels. Therefore, he would certainly be a candidate we would like to spend time with. If he has interest in Atlanta, I don’t know”.

Arthur Blank

Sportsology is assisting in the search for the general manager, and ZRG Partners will assist in the search for the coach. However, the football president will lead these searches and oversee both the coach and the general manager once they are hired.

Blank clarified that the football president will be responsible for overseeing the coach and general manager, reporting directly to him. Although the candidates for these positions will not cede authority, they will be primarily responsible for decision-making in their areas.

“Obviously, you still have to hire a great coach and a great general manager, and the football president won’t do their job for them, but he will hold them accountable and give his opinion and guidance when necessary.”

Arthur Blank

Despite not having experience in the directive, Matt Ryan, former quarterback and historical figure of the Falcons, is considered for the position due to his leadership, knowledge of the game, and ability to work with players and staff.

“His EQ and IQ when it comes to football is extraordinarily high. I have known Matt personally since 2008, and his family, and he is an exceptional individual, a great community leader and the type of person we certainly want to consider in that position.”

Arthur Blank

Blank also mentioned that other candidates will be interviewed. The Falcons announced that they have already interviewed Mike Disner, COO of the Lions. Ian Cunningham, assistant GM of the Bears, and Brandt Tillis, executive vice president of the Panthers, will also be interviewed. Blank explained that the decisions to fire Morris and Fontenot were based on their results. He considered that the Falcons should have achieved more this season, and a winning streak at the end did not influence his decision. Furthermore, he clarified that the decisions to sign Kirk Cousins and select Michael Penix Jr. in the draft were not factors in his decision.

“There were many ups and downs, too many ups and downs, and too many levels that were not consistent throughout our game. Therefore, it’s a combination of things over a period of time, but nothing to do with the decisions we made in collaboration”.

Arthur Blank

During the press conference, Blank was questioned about whether Penix remains the team’s franchise quarterback. Despite Penix’s injury, which will keep him out for at least nine months, Blank affirmed that he continues to trust him as the future of Atlanta.

“The injury he suffered was in his other knee. The surgeon felt 1,000 percent sure in the medical procedure he underwent, and they felt that his knee was going to be better than before… He is committed mentally and physically, and he feels good”.

Arthur Blank

Sportsology was hired months ago to evaluate the Falcons’ football infrastructure. Blank noted that what was most surprising was the lack of clarity in the team’s vision. Therefore, the position of president of football was added, who will define and lead the team’s vision on the field.

“In any industry, if you don’t have clarity around the vision, but you’re trying to establish and build, you’ll end up with many disparate parts moving in different directions. And that means that not only do you not succeed or have partial success, but you can also be very inefficient. You must be as focused as possible in terms of what you want to do exactly. You can make better selections of players, coaches, technical staff and maintain that consistency in place. And then you modify it all the time depending on what’s happening in the game”.

Arthur Blank