The Atlanta Falcons are headed into a big game this weekend which could set the tone in the NFC South against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and they are doing it coming off their biggest win of the season against the San Francisco 49ers.

While there have certainly been ups and downs, Kevin Stefanski has shown some serious flashes of brilliance during his first year at the helm of Atlanta. He was brought in to change a culture of losing from this organization, and that is what he's doing right now. The Falcons clearly have a lot of work to do, but the foundation is being laid and Stefanski is doing exactly what he was hired to do.

It's not just Atlanta fans taking notice either though, and ESPN's Ben Solak is not only impressed with Stefanski already, but thinks the veteran head coach should win the NFL's Coach of the Year Award.

"Atlanta has plenty of proof it can play with anyone in this league. Ending the season 10-7 with a home playoff game feels like the winning ticket," Solak wrote. "Whether or not that's enough for Stefanski to win his third Coach of the Year recognition, he deserves his flowers in this space. I love the job he's doing in Atlanta."

He also discussed the fact that the stylistic changes to Michael Penix Jr. as well as the way this team is winning games with toughness and grit being enough to convince him that he is the man for this award.

Stefanski -- who won the award twice with the Cleveland Browns -- would join an absurd list of coaches to accomplish the feat three times with Don Shula, Chuck Knox and Bill Belichick. While he may have a long way to go in order to achieve the Hall of Fame careers of the trio before him, he is certainly making his case especially if things keep going well.

This is a franchise that has not made the postseason in a decade, and if he is able to do that in year one while dealing with quarterback injuries, a completely depleted pass rush and an absolutely dreadful start to the year, it would be tough to deny him.

The Falcons have a long way to go here before these conversations get real, and Stefanski would be the first to tell you individual accolades like this are pretty meaningless. With that being said, it should be validating to see Stefanski getting some love across the league, because it looks like Atlanta made a great choice in hiring him.