The Atlanta Falcons were genuinely pathetic on special teams in 2025, so you'd think things can't get any worse than they were under Marquice Williams. However, this is the Falcons we're talking about, so you're dead wrong even though Kevin Stefanski added more experience to the special teams staff.
Stefanski opted not to bring back Williams and replaced him with Craig Aukerman, who spent last season in Miami, which was fine. But where he's starting to lose the fanbase is with a mere special teams assistant hire, which doesn't feel like much, but believe me, this is not a positive update.
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported yesterday that the Dirty Birds are hiring former Rams' special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn as their assistant special teams coach. And for those who don't know, Sean McVay fired Blackburn midseason after a major special teams meltdown against Seattle,
Falcons hire ex-Rams special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn to Kevin Stefanski's coaching staff
That makes not one, but two special teams coaches the Falcons hired who have been fired in-season. Aukerman was fired by the Titans in the middle of 2023 after a brutal overtime loss to the Colts due to many special teams blunders, which isn't the most promising development of the offseason.
At the very least, Stefanski could have tried to bring Bubba Ventrone with him to Atlanta, but instead, McVay brought him to Los Angeles to serve as Blackburn's successor. That makes this sting even more when the two-time Coach of the Year has brought an army of coaches with him from Cleveland.
It doesn't seem like a big deal, but it is. The kicking game is finally stable because of Zane Gonzalez, but the return game had no juice. Special teams lost the Falcons a game to the Jets and Raheem Morris didn't hire the grossly inexperienced Williams, so at least the margin for error is smaller now.
Both Blackburn and Aukerman have had multiple stints as a special teams coordinator at the NFL level, but it's nothing to phone home about. What is interesting is that the 42-year-old spent a season learning under Aukerman in Tennessee in 2022 before receiving the opportunity from the Rams.
What's nice is that this is a reunion for the pair (who led a solid unit together), which is cause for some hope, but both of their track records are leading me to proceed with caution. Then again, the bar is underground in Atlanta, so maybe this can sprout into something better than we expect.