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The 2020 season is over. The Atlanta Falcons finished 4-12, bottom of the NFC South, and fired longtime general manager Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Dan Quinn. It was a season to forget, and with the season now officially over for the Falcons, it’s time to look to the future.
On Monday, team owner Arthur Blank and team president Rich McKay held their end-of-season press conference to shed light on the upcoming offseason and where the team stands in their search for the next general manager and head coach.
Don’t expect a quick head coach and general manager hiring
Arthur Blank says the team’s interviews with both HC and GM “went well.” He says the Falcons have a long list of remaining interviews this week.
– William McFadden (@willmcfadden) January 4, 2021
It has previously been reported that the Falcons are scheduled to interview San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bienemey practically Monday morning, and it appears the team has a list of other prospects. who they expect to talk to in the future. weeks. While no further names were provided, we would expect them to speak to Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Blank, Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, and Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley.
On the side of the Director General, no further update was given. It looks like the new GM will have a say in the future of Matt Ryan and Julio Jones, however, with Blank hinting that he doesn’t want to tie his hands in making key roster decisions. It wasn’t clear who the next GM and head coach might be and how quickly we might expect them to be hired.
Falcons won’t focus on offensive-minded head coach
McKay says the Falcons made the mistake of focusing on an offensive coach with Petrino, a mistake he says he has forever. Said the team will not rank by focusing only on one side of the ball for their search for a head coach
– The Falcoholic (@TheFalcoholic) January 4, 2021
The last time the Falcons hired an offensive-minded head coach was in 2007 with Bobby Petrino, one of the biggest training disasters in NFL history. McKay, who takes responsibility for hiring, hinted in Monday’s press conference that he learned from this situation not to focus solely on one side of the ball when looking for a coach- potential leader.
While I understand the reluctance, the NFL quickly shifted to an offense-oriented league and the Falcons took the defensive route in their last two head coaching hires. Mike Smith went 66-46 with the team, winning one playoff game while Dan Quinn went 43-42 winning three playoff games. In my opinion, it’s time for an attacking spirit who won’t be hired after a successful season.
Matt Schaub retires from the NFL
Arguably the only real news of the day was that Blank was announcing that longtime NFL quarterback Matt Schaub was retiring from professional football. Schaub was drafted by the Falcons in the third round of the 2004 draft and spent much of his first stint in Atlanta as a replacement for Michael Vick. He returned to Atlanta in 2016 after spending time with the Houston Texans, Oakland Raiders, and Baltimore Ravens. Schaub will retire as the Texans’ all-time leading passer in yards, touchdowns and wins.
Blank wants the team to be competitive every year
Blank says he doesn’t want this organization to be Super Bowl or bankrupt. He has to be competitive every year for the Falcons, doesn’t want to go through three consecutive dull seasons like they just did
– The Falcoholic (@TheFalcoholic) January 4, 2021
A pretty vague statement considering the owner doesn’t want his team to be competitive every year, but that’s still the goal in Atlanta. After making the 2016-17 playoffs, the Falcons entered a playoff drought with three straight seasons of 7 wins or less. Whether the new regime is capable of making that dream come true remains to be seen, but Blank has indicated that he believes the team is closer to .500 than their 4-12 record in terms of talnt, but it is still not enough.
That basically sums up Monday’s end-of-season press conference. Not entirely exciting, but if you want to watch it for yourself, click here.
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