The Falcons, in the midst of an offseason overhaul, have their main piece in place.
And they’re bringing back one of their own.
Matt Ryan, one of the more celebrated players in Falcons history, was named president of football on Saturday.
Team owner Arthur Blank confirmed Ryan’s candidacy for the organization’s newly created director of football position during his news conference Thursday.
Ryan was the last of five candidates interviewed late this week.
In the newly created role, Ryan will oversee all aspects of football for the Falcons and will report to Blank. One of the first orders of business will be hiring a general manager and head coach, after the team fired Terry Fontenot and Raheem Morris on Sunday following a disappointing 8-9 season.
Ryan, who was working at CBS as an analyst, has no front-office experience in the NFL, but Blank has confidence in the path forward.
“Throughout his remarkable 14-year career in Atlanta, Matt’s leadership, attention to detail, knowledge of the game and unrelenting drive to win made him the most successful player in our franchise’s history,” Blank said in a team statement. “I am confident those same qualities will be a tremendous benefit to our organization as he steps into this new role.
“From his playing days to his time as an analyst at CBS, Matt has always been a student of the game, and he brings an astute understanding of today’s NFL, as well as unique knowledge of our organization and this market. I have full confidence and trust in Matt as we strive to deliver a championship caliber team for Atlanta and Falcons fans everywhere.”
Ryan, a former league MVP, played 14 of his 15 NFL seasons in Atlanta and he will look to get the Falcons back to relevance.
“Arthur gave me the chance of a lifetime almost twenty years ago, and he’s done it again today,” Ryan said in the team 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. I could not be more excited, grateful, or humbled by this new opportunity. I began my career with a singular goal: to do right by the Blank family, the Falcons organization, the City of Atlanta, and especially our fans. My commitment to the success of this franchise has not changed. I’m beyond ready to help write a new chapter of excellence.”
Ryan joins a list of TV analysts who made the move to a team front office.
“I want to thank the incredible team at CBS Sports,” Ryan said. “I loved my three years there and I am truly grateful for their support in pursuing this opportunity. The CBS Sports culture is amazing and I have made teammates and friends for life.”
His co-workers were sad to see him leave.
“We couldn’t be happier for Matt,” said David Berson, CBS Sports president and CEO. “Becoming the president of football with the same organization he once guided as an MVP quarterback is an incredible opportunity.”
The Falcons interviewed four other candidates for the position, and Ryan was the presumed choice. The position will gave final say over the general manager and head coach — both of whom he’ll be responsible for hiring.
Matt, the legend
Ryan arguably is the best player in Falcons history. He holds nearly every quarterback record for the franchise, including touchdowns (367), completions (5,242), attempts (8,003), yards (59,735), passer rating (94.2), completion percentage (65.5) and career 300-yard passing performances (73).
The Boston College product — who joined the Falcons at a tumultuous time after quarterback Michael Vick went to prison and coach Bobby Petrino quit before completing a full season — oversaw five consecutive winning seasons to begin his career.
He combined with Chris Redman to be the first quarterbacks to lead the Falcons to back-to-back winning seasons in 2008 and 2009.
Ryan won the NFL MVP in 2016 and helped the Falcons to their second Super Bowl berth, and he was always praised for his professionalism and leadership throughout his 15-year career. He spent 14 of those seasons with the Falcons, playing his final campaign with the Colts in 2022.
While Ryan lacks executive experience — he worked as an analyst for CBS since announcing his retirement in April 2024 — Blank made it clear he believes in Ryan’s football acumen.
“Matt Ryan came into the league as a rookie in 2008, ended up leading a locker room of 53 for 14 years, leading in the huddle, being a great player, leading great players, supporting coaches” Blank said on Thursday.
“His EQ and IQ when it comes to football is extraordinarily high. I’ve known Matt personally since 2008 and his family. He’s an outstanding individual, great community leader and certainly the kind of person you’d want to consider in that position.”
Blank, in explaining the position, made it clear that the president of football will be focused solely on the team as it pertains to the game on the field (rather than having additional behind-the-scenes responsibilities). The GM and coach will report directly to Ryan, who’ll report to Blank.
This is a new approach for the longtime owner, whose franchise is mired in an eight-year playoff drought and has fired three coaches over that span. Certainly, leadership changes are synonymous with the Falcons at this point. That ultimately falls on Blank, who hopes a fundamental shift in how the franchise conducts business — including hiring a president of football — creates more welcomed results.
The other four candidates had lengthy careers in the NFL fronts offices and one could likely end up in the general manager’s spot. They include Ian Cunningham (Bears assistant GM); Josh Williams (49ers director of scouting and football operations); Brandt Tillis (Panthers executive vice president of football operations); and Mike Disner (Lions chief operating officer).
Staff writer Gabriel Burns contributed to this story.
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