It's no secret the Atlanta Falcons are investing a lot of trust in Kevin Stefanski to lead them back to the playoffs. Even as an experienced head coach, hiring Stefanski was a major gamble because the Browns went 8-26 across his last two seasons at the helm, which is pretty darn bad despite his QB track record.
It's a major gamble for Matt Ryan, who wants to make a lasting impression with his first move as the Falcons' president of football. While on the Pat McAfee Show, Matty Ice said that with all of the experienced head coaches available, they felt confident in his ability to assemble a strong coaching staff-- and he's done just that.
The word that keeps coming up pertaining to the Falcons' new leadership is vision. It's clear that Stefanski, Ryan, and Ian Cunningham envision the same level of collaboration, which is something that was nowhere to be found with the old regime or before Arthur Blank created Ryan's position.
Matt Ryan is giving Falcons fans more reasons to feel confident in the Kevin Stefanski hire
Ryan also dropped a major nugget on the air: he consulted with coaches Stefanski used to coach with and reached out to several players who have played for him in both Minnesota and Cleveland to gauge his suitability for the job. So it's clear that the former NFL MVP did his homework on him.
One of the players Matty Ice revealed that spoke with was Joe Flacco, who is set to be a free agent this offseason. Ironically, McAfee had Flacco on the previous day, where he gave heaps of praise to his former head coach, and that doesn't seem like much of a coincidence to be completely honest.
Even though his final two seasons in Cleveland were a disaster, it never really felt like players stoped buying into his vision. And Ryan thinks that seeing Stefanski face some real adversity near the end of his Browns' tenure builds character and provides him with lessons he can bring with him to Atlanta.
Most of the time, it's hard for a first-time head coach to assemble a top-notch coaching staff, which gave the Dirty Birds a serious advantage. It helped to keep Jeff Ulbrich and the defensive staff around, but the offensive staff didn't only consist of coaches he's worked with before.
Some would even argue that the two-time Coach of the Year has assembled a better coaching staff than John Harbaugh in New York, so it's good that Ryan brought that up. Hiring a new head coach will always be taking a big swing and a lot more matters than just a win-loss record or accolades.
Not everyone agrees with Ryan's assessment but I do. He also praised Cunningham in this interview, and I firmly believe that this time next year, we'll be calling the Falcons geniuses for bringing in leadership that's perfect for what they're looking for.