Top five coaches on the Atlanta Falcons staff

The current assembled group of Atlanta Falcons coaches makeup both youth and experience. Each one is expected to contribute in some capacity to player growth and development, play-calling, game-planning, communication, etc.

Out of the 19 total number of Atlanta Falcons coaches, we will examine the current top five on the staff overall, including what they bring to the table and what fans should expect of them.

Raheem Morris

Morris enters his 17th year of NFL coaching experience overall. He is going into his fifth year with the Atlanta Falcons. 2020 will be his first year as the defensive coordinator officially. Morris was responsible for calling the third-down plays in the second half of the 2019 season, which saw the Falcons improve dramatically.

Morris has prior head coaching experience in the NFL, as he spent three seasons guiding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009-2011.

Morris is a players coach. He is young, aggressive and brings maturity to the team overall with his 17 years of experience. 2020 should bring continued improvement on the defensive side of the ball with Morris officially at the helm and calling the plays.

Jeff Ulbrich

Ulbrich has been officially promoted to assistant head coach/linebackers for the upcoming 2020 season. He enters his sixth year as the Falcons linebackers coach. Another fan favorite, Ulbrich was also responsible for the second half defensive success in 2019 when he called first and second down defensive plays. He brings grit, aggressiveness, and experience as a former NFL linebacker.

With a very strong linebacking corps, the Falcons are in a good place with him leading the way. This group should continue to improve in 2020. Being promoted to assistant head coach will only contribute to and build his pedigree. Ulbrich is conspicuous by his beard and a backward baseball cap that he wears on the sidelines.

Greg Knapp

Knapp brings 24 years of NFL coaching experience to the table. He is entering his third consecutive year as the Falcons quarterback coach and fifth year overall with the Falcons. He was the previous offensive coordinator for the Falcons in the early 2000s.

The only reason why Knapp is on this list is because of his pedigree and experience working with pro-bowl and super bowl winning quarterbacks. This includes Peyton Manning when both were with the Denver Broncos and current Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.

Knapp is rarely in the spotlight and fans don’t really know how much of a factor he is in Matt Ryan‘s success or failure. One would like to think that his experience he brings to the table can only help with Matt Ryan having another MVP-type season in 2020.

Bob Sutton

Sutton is officially a senior assistant on the Falcons staff. He enters his second season with the Falcons, after previously spending six seasons as defensive coordinator of the Kansas City Chiefs.

His responsibilities in 2019 mainly included in-game strategy, clock management, timeout usage, and replay review. All of these areas in the past were horribly managed and run by head coach Dan Quinn. It is fair to say that these areas improved somewhat with Sutton’s presence, but clock management and timeout usage both still leave something to be desired.

Hence, another example of why and how Sutton is on this list is due to his experience and pedigree, for what it’s worth.

Dirk Koetter

Due to the process of elimination, as well as the uncertainty and lack of the remaining coaching staff’s success, Koetter makes this list. 2019 was a rough season for him in his second stint as offensive coordinator for the Falcons.

With an anemic run game pretty much all season due to injuries at running back and a depleted offensive line, Koetter was extremely pass-happy with his play-calling.

He will need to establish the run game in 2020 and not be overly stubborn. With a  healthy running back corps returning, including a potential 2020 draft pick in the mix, this should drastically improve.

In a passing league, Koetter has a history and a reputation for developing prolific passing attacks, although he does lack in creativity from a play-calling perspective far too often.

The Atlanta Falcons coaching staff has some new additions in 2020. This list can very well change after the 2020 season.  Whether or not it does, will be contingent upon the team’s ultimate success.