The biggest move for the Atlanta Falcons this offseason could be an assistant.
The Atlanta Falcons are beginning a new era under a new head coach in Kevin Stefanski this season, and it will be up to the former Cleveland Browns lead man to change the culture here and get this team back to the playoffs.
For the better part of the last decade, this has been a mediocre ball club, and that would be putting it nicely. While Stefanski obviously is expected to have a huge impact, no coach can do it alone and everyone needs a great staff to have success.
One hire which went slightly under the radar was someone Stefanski is very familiar with in offensive line coach Bill Callahan, who worked with him for a number of years in Cleveland as well as a couple of stints as a head coach in the early 2000s.
After establishing one of the better offensive lines in football with the Browns, the hire was a no-brainer for Stefanski and he talked about the impact the veteran coach could have on this team.
Stefanski Believes Callahan Will Have Huge Impact
"He’s somebody that I lean on quite a bit," Stefanski said via Josh Kendall of The Athletic. "He’s definitely a resource for me as a young coach, and he’s a great, great, great technician."
Callahan spoke on the state of the line too, and it sounds like he is extremely confident that this unit is once again going to be one of the biggest strengths of the team this season.
"It’s a great group of guys," Callahan said. “Coach [Dwayne Ledford] did a phenomenal job here. He’s got the line rolling. They are physical. They have a great attitude about themselves. They did a great job of producing in the run game. I’m just here to maintain what they have done here and improve upon it."
Callahan Simply Needs to Continue Team Success
While the overall team success has not been there, it has not been due to a lack of ability up front in the last couple of years as Ledford established one of the best lines in football.
The line is credited in no small part with Bijan Robinson's quick emergence to superstardom, and if it can take that next step, perhaps whoever wins the quarterback battle will be able to distribute the football efficiently to the team's great group of weapons.
On paper, this offense is capable of being great this season, and it all starts up front. Bringing in Callahan should be a wonderful continuation of the offensive line success this team has experienced over the last couple of years.
