3 Takes On The Falcons Hiring Kevin Stefanski
What to make of Matt Ryan's first major move as the President of Football with the Atlanta Falcons.
Saturday evening, the Atlanta Falcons announced that Kevin Stefanski was going to be the franchise’s next head football coach. The twentieth of all-time, in fact. The former head coach of the Cleveland Browns amassed a 45-66 record across his six seasons in The Land. Atlanta has not had a head football coach with this much NFL head-coaching experience since the team hired the late Dan Reeves in 1997. (Let’s hope that Stefanski follows in Reeves’ footsteps and takes Atlanta to a Super Bowl in Year 2.)
Matt Ryan, the new President of Football for the Falcons, has made his first big move as the top decision-maker for Atlanta.
Let’s dive into my three takes after thinking about the hire over the weekend.
He’s A High-Floor Choice
Stefanski feels like a high-floor choice by Ryan and the Falcons’ brass. The former Browns head football coach was awarded Coach of the Year honors by the Associated Press on two different occasions in Cleveland. He won double-digit games in Cleveland twice. That’s something that has only happened one other time since I arrived in this world in 1991. In 1994, Bill Belichick guided the Browns to their last eleven-win season before Stefanski. That obviously doesn’t mean Stefanski will be the next Belichick. Of course not. But it does mean it would be unwise to overlook the former All-Ivy League safety’s accomplishments in an organization that has not done a whole lot of winning over the last couple of decades.
I also like that Stefanski jumped on board with the plan to retain elite defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich. Atlanta, like Cleveland, was top-5 in the NFL this season in sack percentage. Stefanski clearly values the defensive side of the ball, and for the first time in a long time, Atlanta’s defense was both feisty and fun. It made all the sense in the world to keep Ulbrich in his post for the next staff, and Stefanski has wisely followed suit. It’s not broken, so let’s not do something silly and try to fix it.
Combine that with the report that legendary NFL offensive line coach Bill Callahan will be joining Stefanski’s staff in Atlanta, and you don’t have to squint too hard to see a dynamite staff being assembled for the Falcons in 2026.
We Have To Talk About The Quarterback
I’d love to give Stefanski, Ryan, too, for that matter, honestly, a dose of truth serum about their vision for the quarterback position in 2026 and beyond for the Falcons. Does it include Kirk Cousins, whom Stefanski coached in Minnesota? Or does it include Michael Penix Jr., who suffered a season-ending injury, his third major knee injury in his football career, in a Week 11 loss to the Carolina Panthers? Does it include trading for Dillon Gabriel as a form of insurance on Penix?
It’s an interesting conundrum, as one of the biggest reasons Stefanski is still not coaching the Browns is because of what happened at quarterback. He understands better than most just how critical it is that he and Ryan make the right choice at quarterback in 2026 and beyond. That might mean a final chance for Penix Jr. in 2026 and a reset in 2027, or it might mean Penix Jr. is better and healthier than ever and the Falcons have their franchise quarterback for the foreseeable future. What cannot happen is multiple years of uncertainty and musical chairs at the most important position in the sport. After his second season in Atlanta in 2027, for Stefanski to work long-term in this city, the quarterback question has to be settled.
Will The Falcons Regret Not Taking A Bigger Risk?
There are numerous head-coaching vacancies this cycle, and there are several very intriguing names this cycle, too. The Falcons snagged one of them in Stefanski.
It’s interesting that among the four teams that remain in the NFL Playoffs, two are retread hires who won a lot in their only other head-coaching stops in Mike Vrabel and Sean Peyton. The other two are in their first stop as the head man and were elite coordinators before, in Sean McVay and Mike Macdonald. These two pairings at the top of their respective conferences perfectly illustrate that one can never really know which way to go.
Sometimes, the retread hire is the path an organization should follow, just ask Kansas City Chiefs fans with Andy Reid. Sometimes, it’s the young, bright offensive mind, just ask San Francisco 49ers fans with Kyle Shanahan.
This stuff is hard.
Ultimately, I like the gamble on Stefanski. I liked the process and the range of candidates Atlanta spoke with. I like that Ulbrich will return as defensive coordinator. However, like so many other things in this sport, I wonder less about the head coach and worry more about the quarterback. If Stefanski gets it right, he’ll be here for a while. If he doesn’t, he won’t. That’s how it is across the NFL – the Falcons are no different.