Longtime Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is returning to Atlanta in a key front office role. The Falcons announced that they have hired Ryan as their president of football.
The Falcons created the position for Ryan, one of the greatest players in franchise history. Ryan originally joined the Falcons as the third overall pick in the 2008 draft. The Boston College product quarterbacked the team through 2021 and made four Pro Bowls.
During an MVP-winning season in 2016, Ryan led the Falcons to a Super Bowl bid. After a gut-wrenching loss to the Patriots, the Falcons rebounded to earn a playoff berth again in 2017 for the sixth and final time in the Ryan era. They have not gone back to the postseason since then.
Failing to reach the playoffs in five years under general manager Terry Fontenot and two seasons under head coach Raheem Morris led owner Arthur Blank to move on from the pair a week ago.
Blank acted quickly in hiring Ryan, most recently a CBS NFL analyst. The 40-year-old Ryan beat out Lions chief operating officer Mike Disner, Panthers executive vice president of operations Brandt Tilis, 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams and Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham for the job. He’ll now leave behind his role with CBS.
In a statement announcing his hiring, Ryan said: “Arthur gave me the chance of a lifetime almost twenty years ago, and he’s done it again today. While I appreciate the time I had with the Colts and with CBS, I’ve always been a Falcon. It feels great to be home. I could not be more excited, grateful, or humbled by this new opportunity. I began my career with a singular goal: to do right by the Blank family, the Falcons organization, the City of Atlanta, and especially our fans. My commitment to the success of this franchise has not changed. I’m beyond ready to help write a new chapter of excellence.”
In taking over as the Falcons’ top football executive, Ryan will hold “final decision-making authority,” Blank stated on Friday. Ryan will immediately get to work on hiring a new GM and head coach.
With Ryan firmly in charge, the NFL regards the Falcons’ GM opening as a secondary position, according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. That means the Falcons technically don’t have to conduct any interviews before hiring someone for the role. However, the Falcons’ president of football interviews also served as GM interviews, sources told Dianna Russini of The Athletic (via Scott Bair of Marquee Sports). While the Falcons may offer the job to Disner, Tilis, Williams or Cunningham, hiring either Williams or Cunningham would have to wait because those two are working for current playoff teams. It’s also possible that those individuals’ teams could block them from taking the Falcons’ gig if they view it as a lateral move.
There are fewer complications with the Falcons’ HC opening. They’re set to interview Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver and Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak on Saturday (via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network). The Falcons also have interest in John Harbaugh, the most established choice on the market, but they’re not ready to “go all-in” on him yet, Jones reports.
Once Ryan settles on replacements for Fontenot and Morris, his focus will turn to improving a roster that produced an 8-9 record in 2025, the team’s eighth straight sub-.500 season. The Falcons haven’t finished above .500 since Ryan was under center in 2017. Evaluating the team’s current QBs – Kirk Cousins, a likely release candidate, and Michael Penix Jr. – will rank among Ryan’s most important tasks in the coming weeks.
Following the same career path as John Lynch … from the field to the TV booth to the front office …
Maybe I’m jumping the gun, but this is the same guy who has expressed a desire to continue broadcasting at the same time he’s POFO. It makes me wonder if he really understands what that job will require. And how could the owner go along with that?
Matt stated earlier this week that he will not return to broadcasting if he’s given full control of the decision-making which he now has
Yes he did i forgot about that…”No CBS for Ryan” was the title of the article I read.
That makes so much more sense.
He’s not going back to CBS
And let all the weird Matt Ryan hating comments begin….
I think Matt Ryan was a really good quarterback who seemed bright.
I think it’s impossible to know if he’ll be any good in a front office role.
I don’t think *anyone* should be a national broadcaster and a front office executive at the same time.
Is that weird hating?
his comment itself was weird, but a cogent reply nonetheless
No I agree he shouldn’t be in broadcast nor should Brady. But tons of front office roles are held by former players so what’s the difference now in giving him a try? I’m just surprised how much hate he generates and not just here…Can’t hate him because he won too many superbowls, or being an A-hole villain, or being a dumb jock, or borderline criminal, etc, etc. I’m not sure why people hate on this guy so much lol
Show me a high profile player and I’ll show you a line of trolls ready to take him down a peg.
Hahaha you wouldn’t have to look very far!
Not hating. I just think they’re at a critical juncture and I would’ve thought a more experienced POBO would be called for. Big decisions ahead.
Brady is Brady though. The NFL has permanently placed a Golden Horseshoe up his arse so he’ll be doing his TV gig along with calling the shots for the raiders. It’s a ton Brady world and we all are just living in it
28-3
Don’t blame Ryan for all of that. Head coach and OC got conservative and took Ryan out of his rhythm. They have openly stated as such. Then, when it became obvious in the 4th they needed to open things up the whole offense looked lost.
And let’s not forget he was playing against one of the greatest org’s in history, who are well known for making adjustments at half.
I still blame Shanahan for not running the ball. The same in the 2019/20 and 2022/23 SBs as well.
Plus not kicking a field goal to make it 31-20 would’ve iced it. Shanahan wanted to jam it down the patriots throat and it backfired in the end. (I don’t remember exactly the score but it would’ve almost sealed the game)
A prime example of why you don’t let off the gas no matter the lead. Especially in the Super Bowl. You’re not playing next week and the game is pretty meaningful…..
Perfect fit for the team. A really bad analyst with no experience running a team. But at least he kisses ass well
He might’ve been a bad analyst but at least he had the guts to give it a try. As far as being president of the Falcons of course he doesn’t have any experience but he spent 13 years with the organization so I think he knows exactly what this team needs to succeed. I commend Arthur Blank for trying something different for once
He was significantly better than Brady on TV. I can’t even watch games Brady calls.
Of course he did. Were the other candidates just a sham? Does this involve the Looney Rule as well? … ahem, Rooney. GM is now secondary.
We’ll see what this actually means. As long as it helps us win games and stop being so damn aggravating and mediocre as a franchise I’m open minded.
Should have just made him GM. I still believe McKay’s fingerprints will be everywhere.
McKay can go kick rocks. If a nuclear apocalypse happened three things would survive: cockroaches, rocks, and rich McKay
Four things. Keith Richards.
I dont know who will live longer, Richards or Yoko Ono?
Haha … I said the same thing about Snyder in Wash and Baalke with Jax. At least Coen changed the scene.
McKay is out. Was announced last Monday.
Yes, but he is still Blank’s man, no matter where he “officially” is …
This. I 100% agree with this. Even if it’s just two hour lunch sessions at the Home Depot Corp Office or something, McKay will still be in Blank’s ear.
I like the Ryan hire. The Falcons core is not bad and he could tweak a few things and get the Falcons in the playoffs. Carolina and NO getting better and Tampa had so many injuries. The division isn’t a great one, but there should be amazing parity in it for years to come.
This year got off to a horrible start with losing the RT in week 3 of the preseason, and then Ray Ray going Cray Cray and Drake’s injury. They just didn’t have solid depth to offset that. And even with all that, a competent kicker and they would have won at least two, if not three more games easily. Then the whole decision to just give the starting job to Penix without any questions. These were some of the reasons I was thinking Raheem might get one more year, but I think the negative media publicity really starting to hit Blank.
I would normally be skeptical (to say the least) of this type of hire, but…I think this particular hire is worth a shot.
He thrived in the NFL for a long time based almost solely off of his understanding of the game.
Matt Ryan also announced he will be delivering pizzas on Sundays for Dominos and serving as the head coach for his son’s high school football team.
And preparing taxes for H&R Block
This might have been funny if, you know, he hadn’t already quit CBS, which I am assuming is the premise here.