The Atlanta Falcons are bringing back a legend and arguably the best player in franchise history in a newly created role.
The Atlanta Falcons have officially brought back a franchise legend in a front office capacity. The Falcons announced Saturday morning that they’re hiring former quarterback Matt Ryan in their newly created president of football role. Ryan was largely expected to be hired with the role arguably made with him in mind. He will lead Atlanta’s search for their next head coach and general manager and will oversee those hires once in place. It takes Ryan out of the booth, as he’d been with CBS Sports as an NFL analyst, and puts him back in the Falcons building in a reunion with owner Arthur Blank.
Ryan doesn’t have any experience in a front office capacity, but Blank spoke highly of Ryan’s emotional and football intelligence on Thursday, in addition to his leadership skills as a quarterback through several regimes in Atlanta.
"His EQ and IQ when it comes to football is extraordinarily high," Blank said of Ryan on Thursday. "I've known Matt personally since 2008, and his family, and he's an outstanding individual, great community leader and kind of person we certainly would want to consider in that position."
"Arthur gave me the chance of a lifetime almost 20 years ago, and he's done it again today," Ryan said in a statement. "While I appreciate the time I had with the Colts and with CBS, I've always been a Falcon. It feels great to be home."
It’s a feel-good story for Falcons fans after a disappointing 8-9 season finish that sent the NFC South to a three-way tiebreaker that involved other teams’ postseason hopes – but not theirs. Shortly after the season ended, the team fired coach Raheem Morris after two seasons and general manager Terry Fontenot after five. Ryan will now look for their replacements and a regime that will look to lead Atlanta to their first winning season and/or playoff appearance since he was their quarterback in 2017.
Ryan will report directly to Blank in this role and will work with Falcons president Greg Beadles who has since been promoted to an additional CEO role. The team did interview other candidates, according to Marc Raimondi of ESPN: Chicago Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham, Detroit Lions COO Mike Disner, San Francisco 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams, and Carolina Panthers executive VP Brandt Tillis.
However, per ESPN, those names are now expected to be candidates for their GM search, with Bears’ Cunningham touted as a frontrunner. The connection there dates back to Ryan’s collegiate years at Boston College, where he was teammates with Ryan Poles – Chicago’s GM. It’ll be a fascinating new role to watch for the four-time Pro Bowler who led Atlanta to five playoff berths and a Super Bowl appearance.