Raheem Morris entered Week 18 a candidate to keep his job, having won three straight games — including a Week 17 win over the Rams. Despite closing the season with a fourth consecutive victory, the two-year HC was fired along with Falcons GM Terry Fontenot. An organizational reboot will send Morris elsewhere even after he outperformed Arthur Smith in terms of wins.
Smith received three seasons, going 7-10 in each. Morris went 8-9 in both his campaigns. His firing surprised players and upset some, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who adds the coaching staff was optimistic the four-game win streak to close the season would save jobs. As the Falcons appear prepared to hire Matt Ryan for a central role in the front office, Arthur Blank leaned on two consulting firms to clean house.
The firm tasked with evaluating the Falcons’ football operation, Sportsology, did not recommend keeping the status quo, Blank said (via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s D. Orlando Ledbetter).
“I think we’ve learned, the sequencing of things will probably be a little bit differently in terms of points of emphasis,” Blank said. “Sportsology, which we retained several months ago to do a deep dive on the health if you will of the football operations. … They’ve got great experience in multiple sports in that regard, including the NFL. They pointed out some things to us.”
The Falcons had given Fontenot more power in 2024, as CEO Rich McKay stepped away from day-to-day operations. In that offseason, Fontenot made the historically unusual decision to sign a high-priced quarterback (Kirk Cousins) and then draft one in the top 10 (Michael Penix Jr.) six weeks later. Cousins said he would have adjusted his free agency approach had he known a top-10 QB draftee was coming, and the QB did not come close to living up to his four-year, $180MM contract. With Cousins likely set to be released soon, Penix’s injury trouble from his college days resurfacing hurt Fontenot’s stock in the grand scheme.
Morris tabbed Jeff Ulbrich to replace Jimmy Lake as DC in 2025, and the defense made strides — particularly in the pass-rushing department. Atlanta’s 57 sacks were second only to Denver’s 68 this season; that represented a massive improvement for a franchise that has struggled to identify edge rushers for many years. The team now has Jalon Walker and James Pearce to hand to its 2026 defensive play-caller, but Blank is onboard with Ulbrich staying.
Blank said (via Ledbetter) he will recommend to the next head coach that Ulbrich be retained, but the longtime owner will not force the HC’s hand on this matter. That explains the Falcons blocking the Cowboys’ attempt to interview Ulbrich for their DC job. Ulbrich remains tied to a Falcons contract, and it will be interesting to see if the next Atlanta HC views his work favorably. Ulbrich spent three-plus seasons as Jets DC before finishing out that term as the team’s interim coach. Ulbrich, 48, is in his second Falcons stint; he spent six seasons on staff under Dan Quinn previously.
The Falcons have set up an interview with Robert Saleh about the HC gig. If Ulbrich is to be retained, Saleh would seemingly have an uphill battle. Would Falcons ownership be able to sell running the early-2020s Jets setup back?
Saleh and Ulbrich coached two top-five defenses — yardage-wise — in New York. Ulbrich also had the Jets in the top five to close last season in that category. The Falcons, who have employed a different DC in each of the past four seasons (Dean Pees, Ryan Nielsen, Lake, Ulbrich), ranked 15th in yardage and 19th in points this season.
Blank plans to fill the president of football operations role — likely with Ryan — before moving to the GM and HC positions. The owner confirmed (via Ledbetter) a GM will work under the president of football ops role. That would stand to make the job less appealing, but select teams have a buffer between ownership and the front office. The Falcons have operated this way in the past, with McKay working in that capacity. It would seem Ryan is set to step into a similar role and work with a to-be-determined GM and coaching staff, barring an upset here.
Ulbrich had the defense playing pretty well