Arthur Blank finally made a decision Atlanta Falcons fans didn't expect by firing Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot, which now has the Falcons approaching a complete front office overhaul. But even a supposed organizational shakeup still has Blank making his fair share of head-scratching decisions.
In past years, he never would have fired this regime this quickly, let alone demoted his right-hand man Rich McKay. It's nice to see him develop a backbone that was nowhere to be found in recent years, but he could undo all of the brownie points he's earned with the fans by making one costly decision.
There has been talk of Blank eyeing Matt Ryan for a high-profile front office role, and Blank even confirmed that Ryan is the favorite to be named the Falcons' president of football. The fact they're adding this position is really nice, but his loyalty might be blinding him amid this executive search.
Arthur Blank's loyalty to Matt Ryan could come back to haunt the Falcons
Adding a franchise legend to the front office is one thing, but pursuing him for the president of football post is a whole other can of worms they can't afford to open. Ryan has no NFL executive experience, but Blank is overlooking that because of his playing career and respect for his former QB.
Luckily, the Dirty Birds are still mandated by league policy to conduct a full hiring process, which means they can't just zero in on the 40-year-old for the position. He may be the favorite, but at least the NFL is saving Blank from himself by forcing him to interview people who are actually qualified.
A resolution is supposed to come relatively quickly with the POF opening since the majority of the interviews will occur by the end of the week, which is weird. They entered this search with someone already in mind, so I find it hard to believe that Blank would backtrack this deep into the process.
As evidenced by the handling of McKay, the 83-year-old is incredibly loyal to his people, which is admirable, but that's not how you build a winning football organization. This team hasn't made the playoffs in eight years since Ryan was a player, and a playoff drought that long is genuinely pathetic.
Allowing Ryan to play a part in the coaching search is one thing, but this position is a lot of responsibility to give someone just because you're friends. He could turn out to be a good executive, but his lack of experience and Blank's blind loyalty to him isn't exactly grounds for optimism.