The Atlanta Falcons are making a long overdue organizational shakeup, and firing Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot was only the tip of the iceberg. Their firing may have opened the floodgates, but Arthur Blank is clearly fed up with the losing ways in Atlanta after the playoff drought extended for an eighth season.
In a letter to the fanbase released early Monday morning, Blank revealed the extent of the changes that are being made. He penned that the Falcons are looking to add a president of football who will come from outside the organization and oversee the hires of a new head coach and general manager.
Falcons are hiring a new president of football, which many expect to be former Atlanta QB Matt Ryan.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 5, 2026
The expectation will be that the new president of football will be Falcons' legend Matt Ryan, especially after it was reported that he was joining the organization last week. This means that Matty Ice will be calling most of the shots, but also collaborating with the new regime on football-related decisions.
As the president of football, he will report to Blank, while the new head coach and GM will report to him, but all three will work together despite Ryan having the final say as Blank's hand-picked president of football, which is an obvious display of his distrust in both Morris and Fontenot.
Matt Ryan will likely be hired as the Falcons' new president of football
Since retiring, the former NFL MVP has spent his time working in sports media, operating as a panelist for The NFL Today on CBS and occasional game commentator, but he's finally returning to Atlanta by helping the team who drafted him find a replacement for the GM who traded him to Indy.
Additionally, Blank revealed that Falcons' president Greg Beadles will be promoted to president and CEO of the team, while Rich McKay will be taking on an expanded role with the Arthur M. Blank Sports and Entertainment organization, which will finally end his involvement in Falcons' decision-making.
The Dirty Birds also hired the consulting firm Sportology to do an assessment of their football operations across the last few months, but they'll be keeping Sportology around to assist with the GM search, while fellow consulting firm ZRG Partners will assist with the search for a new head coach.
The expectation is that the Falcons will move quickly in their search for a new president of football (which will almost certainly be Ryan), so their former Pro Bowl QB can create the vision for the new regime in order for the POF to spearhead the search for a new head coach and GM going forward.
Fans should be elated about this development: no more McKay and more Matt Ryan. The 40-year-old is a franchise legend and fan favorite, so there's nobody this fanbase should trust with the future of the organization in their hands than a man who nearly led the Falcons to a Super Bowl a decade ago.