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Atlanta Falcons News & Rumors

Falcons, O-Line Coach To Part Ways

By | at January 20, 2021 6:49 pm

  • Another of Quinn’s Cowboys staffers became known Wednesday. The Cowboys hired Aden Durde as defensive line coach. Durde will follow Quinn from Atlanta, where he was most recently the Falcons’ outside linebackers coach. Durde, who spent time with the Cowboys as part of the Minority Fellowship Program from 2014-15, will join Joe Whitt Jr. in following Quinn from Atlanta to Dallas.
  • Arthur Smith‘s first Falcons staff will not include offensive line coach Chris Morgan, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer (on Twitter). Morgan worked with the Falcons for six years, initially serving under OC Kyle Shanahan. Given that offensive scheme’s presence in a few NFL cities, Morgan profiles as an interesting coaching free agent.
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Falcons Hire Terry Fontenot As GM

By | at January 19, 2021 8:50 am

It’s official. On Tuesday morning, the Falcons announced that they have hired Terry Fontenot as their new GM.

[RELATED: Falcons Hire Arthur Smith]

The Saints’ assistant GM of pro personnel reportedly shook hands (or, elbow-bumped) on a deal last week. However, he was barred from taking the job while the Saints were in the midst of the playoffs. Then, the Buccaneers eliminated the Saints on Sunday, clearing the way for Fontenot to move on to his new NFC South home.

To date, Fontenot has spent his entire 18-year career with the Saints. After seven seasons as a pro scout, seven seasons as director of pro scouting, and four years in his current role, the Falcons believe that he’s ready to lead his own front office.

“When we started this process we were focused on finding someone that not only has a track record of identifying key building blocks that result in successful teams, but also someone who focuses on cohesive relationships within the building. We feel very strongly that we’ve found that individual in Terry Fontenot,” said owner Arthur Blank. “In his past positions, he has shown the ability to make strong decisions and judgments that result in championship-caliber teams, while also understanding a variety of viewpoints and respecting a collaborative process throughout.

“Landing a leader of Terry’s stature, I believe our organization, players, fans and community will have confidence in our approach throughout this process as I am certain Terry will represent them and the expectations they have to a high level.”

With Fontenot and Arthur Smith in place, the Falcons will now focus on rounding out their coaching staff.

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Falcons Interview Frisman Jackson For OC

By | at January 18, 2021 5:38 pm

  • New Falcons coach Arthur Smith will surely be running the team’s offense, but it sounds like he’s planning on hiring an offensive coordinator still. We also heard over the weekend that Bears passing game coordinator Dave Ragone was an early favorite for the OC role, but he’s apparently not the only contender. Atlanta has interviewed Panthers receivers coach Frisman Jackson for the job, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. Jackson spent five years with the Browns as a player in the early 2000s, and was the Titans’ receivers coach in 2017 when Smith was coaching tight ends there, so he’s got that connection working for him. He then went to Baylor before following Matt Rhule from there to Carolina.
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Updated 2021 NFL Draft Order

By | at January 18, 2021 11:08 am

With the Divisional Round in the books, the 2021 NFL Draft order is mostly complete. The Rams, Browns, Ravens, and Saints now have their draft spots locked in, though the Rams’ first-round pick belongs to Urban Meyer and the Jaguars. The Rams traded those rights to Jacksonville as a part of the Jalen Ramsey blockbuster.

Here’s the updated draft order, through the top 28:

1. Jacksonville Jaguars
2. New York Jets
3. Miami Dolphins (via Texans)
4. Atlanta Falcons
5. Cincinnati Bengals
6. Philadelphia Eagles
7. Detroit Lions
8. Carolina Panthers
9. Denver Broncos
10. Dallas Cowboys
11. New York Giants
12. San Francisco 49ers
13. Los Angeles Chargers
14. Minnesota Vikings
15. New England Patriots
16. Arizona Cardinals
17. Las Vegas Raiders
18. Miami Dolphins
19. Washington Football Team
20. Chicago Bears
21. Indianapolis Colts
22. Tennessee Titans
23. New York Jets (via Seahawks)
24. Pittsburgh Steelers
25. Jacksonville Jaguars (via Rams)
26. Cleveland Browns
27. Baltimore Ravens
28. New Orleans Saints

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Falcons Eyeing Dave Ragone For OC

By | at January 16, 2021 4:59 pm

  • In hiring Arthur Smith, the Falcons almost certainly have their offensive play-caller in place. But they have identified a Smith right-hand man in Bears passing-game coordinator Dave Ragone. The Chicago assistant has emerged as an early favorite to become Atlanta’s OC, with ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweeting a Smith-Ragone partnership running the Falcons’ offense has a “good chance” of happening. Ragone has been with the Bears since 2016.
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Dean Pees Expected To Join Falcons

By | at January 16, 2021 1:56 pm

Dean Pees has two retirements under his belt since the end of the 2017 season, but the veteran defensive coordinator may be on the verge of yet again returning to work.

The former Titans, Ravens and Patriots DC has emerged on the Falcons’ radar, with CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora noting Arthur Smith‘s first Atlanta staff is expected to include Pees in some capacity (Twitter link). Pees was Tennessee’s DC from 2018-19, overlapping with Smith’s lengthy run with the Titans. The two were coordinators together last season.

Pees, 70, retired from his post as Ravens DC — one he held from 2012-17 — three years ago but quickly backtracked on a pledge to step away by accepting an offer to become the Titans’ DC. But he left the game again following the ’19 season, preceding a significant step back from Tennessee’s defense. The Falcons may well be set to lure Pees back again. This would mark a fourth team and 17th NFL season for Pees, a longtime college coach who began his NFL career with the Patriots in 2004.

For the first time since their Bobby Petrino hire, the Falcons have the HC keys to an offense-oriented leader. This leaves a void on Atlanta’s defensive staff. While Pees may not be summoned to return to a coordinator post, the Falcons could certainly benefit from having him on their staff. Atlanta’s Dan Quinn hire did not coincide with consistent defensive success. They ranked as a top-half defense just twice in Quinn’s five-plus-year tenure and slipped to 29th in total defense this season.

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Falcons Hire Arthur Smith As Head Coach

By | at January 15, 2021 3:49 pm

Arthur Smith accepted the Falcons’ offer to become their head coach. The Falcons announced Friday afternoon they have hired the Titans offensive coordinator.

After two years as Tennessee’s OC, Smith received widespread interest. Every team with a head coaching vacancy reached out to the young coach for an interview. The Falcons landed him and will move forward with the breakout play-caller in charge.

Tennessee’s tight ends coach prior to being promoted in 2019, Smith will become the second straight Titans OC to make the leap to a head coaching job. The Packers hired Matt LaFleur in 2019, but Smith’s Titans work exceeded his predecessor’s. Ryan Tannehill revived his career under Smith, posting a historic 9.6 yards-per-attempt figure in 2019 and finishing with a 33-7 TD-INT ratio this season. Both years ended with Titans playoff berths, and each involved Derrick Henry rushing championships.

Riding their retooled offense, the Titans made a run to the 2019 AFC championship game. Henry became the first player to win back-to-back rushing titles since LaDainian Tomlinson in the 2000s, and the 2020 rushing champ’s 2,027-yard performance ranks fifth all time. After making just one playoff berth between 2009-18, the Titans went 2-for-2 in postseason qualification during Smith’s two seasons as their OC. Smith, 38, began his NFL coaching career as a low-level assistant in Washington in 2007 but was with the Titans since 2011.

This will mark a change for the Falcons, who have used defensive-oriented head coaches throughout Matt Ryan‘s career. Atlanta hired Mike Smith in 2008 and Dan Quinn in 2015. Smith will now oversee the final chapter of Ryan’s Falcons career. After an MVP season under Kyle Shanahan in Atlanta’s 2016 NFC championship season, Ryan has not made a Pro Bowl since.

The Falcons remain in search of a GM, though former GM Rich McKay played a key role in hiring Smith. Both Atlanta power brokers will now turn their attention to bringing in Thomas Dimitroff‘s successor. The Falcons are believed to be favoring Saints GM Terry Fontenot for that job. This new regime will be tasked with restoring the Falcons to contender status. They fell well off the pace late in Quinn’s tenure, starting 1-7 in 2019 and 0-5 this year.

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2021 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker

By | at January 15, 2021 1:24 pm

Exiting the regular season, six teams are searching for new head coaches. That number is up from last season but not quite as high as 2019, though there may well be more vacancies that emerge during the playoffs.

Listed below are the head coaching candidates that have been linked to each of the teams with vacancies, along with their current status. If and when other teams decide to make head coaching changes, they’ll be added to this list. Here is the current breakdown:

Updated 1-27-21 (7:05pm CT)

Atlanta Falcons

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

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Falcons Offer Head Coaching Job To Arthur Smith

By | at January 15, 2021 10:40 am

The Falcons have offered their head coaching position to Arthur Smith, according to sources who spoke with ESPN.com’s Dianna Russini (on Twitter). The Titans’ offensive coordinator, who has been tied to every vacancy in the NFL, could be hours away from making it all official. 

Smith was set to chat with the Lions this week, but that meeting has been called off (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). The Texans, Chargers, and Eagles were also intrigued by the 38-year-old, but they’ll have to look elsewhere. The Jaguars and Jets were also tied to Smith, but they’ve since addressed those openings with Urban Meyer and Robert Saleh, respectively.

Smith’s stock has skyrocketed in recent years, especially after guiding Ryan Tannehill‘s remarkable resurgence. He’s only served as an OC for two years, but the Falcons — and plenty of other clubs — believe that he’s ready to run his own show.

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Washington Eyeing Chargers’ JoJo Wooden, Falcons’ Nick Polk For GM Job

By | at January 14, 2021 4:09 pm

Two more candidates for Washington’s GM job surfaced Thursday. The team is expected to interview Chargers executive JoJo Wooden, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, who adds Washington also submitted an interview request to Falcons exec Nick Polk (Twitter links).

After the Washington GM job sat vacant for a year, the team is moving ahead with several candidates for the position. These two join ex-GMs Marty Hurney, Martin Mayhew and Rick Smith, along with Titans staffer Ryan Cowden, in Washington’s search so far. Wooden and Polk are much less seasoned on the GM circuit, but each has been a high-ranking NFL exec for well over a decade.

Wooden serves as the Chargers’ director of player personnel and has been with the franchise since Tom Telesco‘s 2013 arrival. A Syracuse linebacker in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Wooden spent 16 seasons with the Jets, beginning under Bill Parcells in the late ’90s. Wooden worked as Gang Green’s assistant player personnel director for six seasons prior to a relocation to San Diego.

Polk has been the Falcons’ director of football operations for 11 years, but with the Falcons transitioning to perhaps Terry Fontenot at GM, Thomas Dimitroff-era execs’ roles certainly stand to be in flux. However, Polk has been with the Falcons for multiple GM regimes, beginning with the team prior to Dimitroff’s arrival.

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