The Falcons have made another notable hire as Kevin Stefanski fills out his initial staff. Atlanta has brought in Craig Aukerman as special teams coordinator, per a team announcement.

Over the course of his coaching career, Aukerman has primarily worked on special teams. He spent 2025 as the Dolphins’ STC, but once head coach Mike McDaniel was fired it became likely a change of scenery would be likely. Indeed, new HC Jeff Hafley hired Chris Tabor to serve as Aukerman’s replacement last week.

An NFL staffer since 2010, Aukerman has previously worked as an assistant special teams coordinator with the Jaguars and Titans. He led the way in Tennessee from 2018-23, during his second stint with the team. The 49-year-old also worked as a special teams coordinator with the Chargers in 2016 in addition to his Dolphins stint in the same capacity this past season. The Buccaneers interviewed him as part of their STC search.

Aukerman and Stefanski have never worked together, but there will be several familiar faces in Atlanta for 2026. As expected, Tommy Rees followed Stefanski from the Browns to the Falcons to serve as the team’s offensive coordinator. Bob Quinn has also made the same move. The Falcons announced Monday that Cleveland’s former senior personnel/coaching executive has been hired; Quinn’s new title will be senior advisor to the head coach.

In other staff news, the Falcons have also brought back Robert Prince as their new wide receivers coach. Prince’s lengthy coaching career saw him spend three years (2004-06) in Atlanta. He coached the team’s running backs, tight ends and quarterbacks over that time. Since then, Prince has largely operated as a WRs coach, something he did with the Dolphins in 2025.

While Stefanski has brought in a number of new staffers, there will be a degree of continuity as well. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich was retained earlier this month, and several position coaches will also remain in place. The Falcons announced on Monday that defensive line coach Nate Ollie, secondary coach Justin Hood and tight ends coach Kevin Koger are each staying with the team for 2026.

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