Under their new regime, the Atlanta Falcons are still trying to figure out what works for them in terms of ushering this franchise into a new era. Things have not been necessarily bright in Atlanta of late, and this new front office is still tasked with cleaning up the mess that Terry Fontenot left for them.
The Falcons obviously need synergy between Matt Ryan, Ian Cunningham, and Kevin Stefanski going forward, as cohesion between their lead decision-makers is one of the pillars of what their new vision has been. And we're off to a strong start so far, but we'll see how things unfold as the season nears.
Atlanta is in the midst of an eight-year playoff drought, and all three men have the same goal in sight: to end that streak in 2026. And in a wide open NFC South, that feels plenty feasible, and thankfully, they are getting some free tips from a Hall of Fame coach who visited Flowery Branch during OTAs.
Legendary HC Tony Dungy thinks the Falcons need to win their own way
The Falcons have had legendary head coach Tony Dungy in the facility, and he sat down with atlantafalcons.com's Will McFadden to discuss the Dirty Birds. He was asked about what the new regime needs to do to be successful, and his answer was simple: they must march to the same beat.
"There are many ways to do it, and a lot of ways to be successful, but we've got to decide what is the Falcons way," Dungy said. "What is that going to look like? And then, when you get that, then all three of us are on the same page, we're marching together, and it works. But that is, to me, the key thing: What is our way going to be?"
As someone who's been to the peak before, Dungy knows what it takes to get there, so they should listen. He's one of four people to win a Super Bowl as a player and a coach, winning a ring coaching the Indianapolis Colts in 2006, becoming the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl.
The 70-year-old makes a good point. Every front office has a different winning blueprint, and there are many ways to run things. For instance, Cunningham comes from the Howie Roseman tree, which is centered around developing and retaining homegrown talent and accumulating as many picks as possible.
As for Stefanski, he is more of a no-nonsense guy while Ryan has that player-centric view. Dungy also made it clear he likes the direction the Falcons are going with some of their offseason decisions because of the differing experiences of these three, especially Ryan's as a franchise legend.
"I think they've made some good choices. Now it's getting to know one another and what everybody needs and desires and putting it together. And that takes a little time."
The fact of the matter is that the Falcons are much closer to contending than we believe them to be, and Tony Dungy knows from experience that it all starts at the top. So if Ryan, Stefanski, and Cunningham can sustain their shared vision, it will end in success for all parties.
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