In a press conference on Saturday, Arthur Blank, owner of the Atlanta Falcons, expressed his confidence in the coaching staff and team management.Blank expressed his conviction that the Falcons have the necessary elements to achieve consistent success, as long as quarterback Michael Penix Jr. becomes the franchise player that the organization expects him to be.
The Falcons selected defensive end Jalon Walker with the number 15 pick in the draft and then aggressively moved up in the first round, giving up their first-round pick next year, to select defensive end James Pearce Jr. This position was the team’s biggest need, as Atlanta has been one of the worst teams in the league at getting to the quarterback for most of the last decade.In addition, Atlanta fired defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake after only one season and hired former interim coach and defensive coordinator of the New York Jets, Jeff Ulbrich, to replace him. Ulbrich and current Falcons head coach Raheem Morris were part of the Atlanta staff that reached Super Bowl LI in 2016-17.I definitely think we have the right people. I think they continue to demonstrate it, I think, during this offseason and how they built during free agency and particularly the decisions… in the draft. And I think continuing to reflect on the coaching staff, making some changes to the coaching staff. And if the emperor has no clothes, you have to say the emperor has no clothes. And I think our leadership team has done that, and I think that will make us better.
Arthur Blank
However, the Falcons haven’t had a winning record or a playoff berth in seven seasons. General manager Terry Fontenot is entering his fifth season in the role and Morris is now in his second year. Conventional NFL wisdom would indicate that this would be a crucial year for the coaching staff and management.Blank made it clear in the offseason that he was not happy after an 8-9 season in 2024.Blank, however, said he believes that not being able to find a franchise quarterback since Matt Ryan’s departure after the 2021 season has impacted the organization. Blank’s feeling is that the right quarterback, along with consistency in coaching, personnel, and ownership, is the right recipe for a winning team.I believe we have the ingredients we can expect to be consistently competitive.
Arthur Blank
My feeling… is that we are in a better place now, in terms of the team, in terms of training, totally in all areas, than we have been in several years. And so, we were close last year, we didn’t finish as we wanted to finish, for sure. All the coaches would say that. The players would say that too. And certainly, I feel that way, but I think we have gradually improved a lot. And so, I look forward to the season and a different set of results at the end of the season.
Arthur Blank
