Matt Ryan sat on stage in front of the Atlanta Falcons’ meeting room last week at the organization’s headquarters in Flower Branch, Georgia. The former franchise quarterback was introduced at a news conference as the football club’s new president.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank also revealed that Ryan will lead interviews for both the team’s head coach and general manager positions. Ryan was asked if he liked Atlanta hiring a coach with offensive experience. Ryan was a quarterback, after all, and the Falcons had a young QB in Michael Penix Jr. who needs continuous improvement.
Ryan said it doesn’t matter to him if the coach is an expert on offense or defense, as long as he is a stable leader with a good personality.
Ryan and the Falcons believe they have that guy in former Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski, a two-time NFL Coach of the Year (2020 and 2023). Stefanski has a reputation for being offensively minded, an important trait as the Falcons prioritize Penix’s development.
How high was Stefanski on the Falcons board? Could he be the right guy to take Penix to the next level and get the Falcons back to the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons? And what to make of Stefanski’s 45-56 record with the Browns?
Falcons reporter Marc Raimondi, Browns reporter Daniel Oyefusi, NFL insider Jeremy Fowler and NFL analyst Ben Solak break down the recruitment in various ways.
Was Stefanski the Falcons top pick all along?
Fowler: He was the main choice throughout. But Atlanta was involved in John Harbaugh’s pursuit and fell into Harbaugh’s top three. I believe the Falcons are ranked 3rd on Harbaugh’s wish list, behind the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans.
Fortunately for the Falcons, they didn’t have to prioritize Harbaugh or Stefanski. When the Giants and Harbaugh decided to join forces during the week, the path was clear to pursue Stefanski, whose leadership, successful record running the offense and roots in the Philadelphia area (a nod to Ryan) made his fit seamless. Seattle offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak also impressed Atlanta, by all accounts.
But by Friday afternoon, word had begun to circulate in training circles that Stefanski might be arrested in Atlanta.
The Falcons are moving much faster this training cycle than they did last time; have they learned their lesson?
Raymond: The search for 2024 was a little different, including flirting with Bill Belichick. But the Falcons knew at this point that there were other interesting openings, several of which were real competition for Stefanski’s services.
After Atlanta traded Ryan and Harbaugh to the Giants, the Falcons kicked things into overdrive. They put their general manager search on the back burner and focused on finding a new coach. Atlanta had the luxury of doing so, because it has the only GM opening in the league. Obviously, that was not the case when it came to the coach.
Was Ryan the main voice in this decision?
Raymond: Ryan has been placed in a position to lead the search for a coach and general manager once he is in place. That was the Falcons’ top priority this offseason: hiring Ryan to lay the foundation for the franchise’s future. Falcons owner Arthur Blank said Ryan will be the one to decide the Falcons vision moving forward. Clarity in vision is something the previous regime lacked, according to the firm Sportsology, which Blank brought in to audit the football side of the organization a few months ago.
The Falcons are cooperating. Blank and his son, Falcons executive Josh, were apparently involved in the decision-making process. So is president and CEO Greg Beadles and Sportsology. But Ryan is the main hand Blank has entrusted with navigating the Falcons out of their decade-long funk.
What did Stefanski do to inspire hope for the development of Penix Jr.
Oyefusi: The last few seasons have been tough for Stefanski as the Browns have been riding the quarterback. But there was a time when Stefanski helped develop Baker Mayfield as a young quarterback.
In Mayfield’s first season with Stefanski, he threw 26 touchdowns in just eight possessions with a 95.9 passer rating, the second-best single-season mark of his career.
Like Stefanski’s early years in Cleveland, his scheme in Atlanta will likely start with the run game and Bijan Robinson, and marry that with play-action pass concepts that give Penix an easy read.
Should we expect Stefanski to call plays after retiring from playing duties during each season the past two years?
Raymond: To be decided. Stefanski has already been working on overhauling the coaching staff as part of his pitch to the Falcons, and the selection of his offensive coordinator will go a long way in determining how that might pan out.
On the other side of the ball, Stefanski’s hiring could keep the door open for Jeff Ulbrich to return as defensive coordinator. Blank said he would recommend Ulbrich to whoever the new coach ends up being. Ulbrich helped turn around what was a terrible defense in 2024.
He wasn’t alone, either. Defensive line coordinator Mike Rutenberg and defensive line coach Nate Ollie, both brought in by Ulbrich in 2025, are well-respected — in and out of the building. The Falcons defense, which has struggled to get to the quarterback for more than a decade in multiple seasons, is second in the league in sacks (57) and has a young, promising core.
How would you rate this recruitment?
Solak: B+
Stefanski was a solid coach during his time in Cleveland, although his record (45-56) belied that. The tools in the toolbox have never been good for the Browns, and the Falcons are betting that Stefanski’s reputation as a dynamic offensive mind will bear more fruit in Atlanta, where Drake London, Robinson and (potentially) Kyle Pitts Sr. they represent the best offensive team Stefanski has ever worked with.
Hiring head coaches immediately after being let go can be a risky choice — sometimes those coaches just burn out — but I’d bet Stefanski has a lot to prove with how things turned out in Cleveland.
