Matt Ryan is officially the first-ever Atlanta Falcons' president of football, and he was introduced in front of the local media early this morning. That gave Falcons fans the opportunity to hear more about the long-term vision of the franchise after the move was in the works for weeks beforehand.
Now that Ryan has officially been hired, the next step is laying the groundwork to find a new regime. The Dirty Birds have started to conduct their preliminary head coaching interviews, which led Arthur Blank to confirm that Matty Ice is the one leading the interviews to find the next head coach and GM.
Blank: All of the coach interviews have been led by Matt. He will lead all the coach and GM interviews going forward. #Falcons
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) January 13, 2026
However, Blank also confirmed that the team has yet to conduct any GM interviews, but once those commence, they know who they trust to make a final decision. Even though Ryan has no active executive experience, he should know exactly what to look for in a coach or GM from his playing days.
Arthur Blank confirmed Matt Ryan is leading all Falcons' head coach and GM interviews
Including John Harbaugh's unofficial phone call, the Dirty Birds have conducted six head coaching interviews, but the official interview with the Super Bowl-winning coach will likely come in the next few days. So we'll count it since the team did, but hopefully that doesn't lose the team favor with him.
So far, the front office (as led by the franchise legend) has spoken to Aden Durde, Klint Kubiak, Anthony Weaver, Kevin Stefanski, Mike McDaniel, and Harbaugh. In addition, they have also requested to speak with Antonio Pierce, Jesse Minter, Vance Joseph, Jeff Hafley, Robert Saleh, and Ejiro Evero.
The 83-year-old is investing a lot of trust in Ryan because of his own personal respect for him, which is a little worrisome. Their relationship could mean he receives a longer leash than usual, especially since it often takes a lot for Blank to fire the people he's close to, like with the Rich McKay fiasco.
Ryan is the perfect buffer between Blank and the front office since his presence will allow him to be hands-off in making football decisions, which is just how he likes it. But it will ensure someone he trusts is keeping a close eye on the new regime aren't repeating mistakes from the previous regime.
Apparently, Ryan will also be running the head coach and GM search at the same time, which was expected. The ultimate goal should be finding two decision-makers who share the same vision as him for the future of this Falcons team, which is exactly what he seems to be pursuing.