Arthur Blank met with media on Thursday for the first time since the team fired Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot, and predictably he was asked a lot of questions about those firings, what’s next for Atlanta, and what consulting firm Sportology found wrong with the organization.
Calling himself “a custodian of the franchise for the fans” and referencing the “pain, anguish, and frustration” both he and fans felt during another lost season, Blank made it clear change was needed. He also elaborated somewhat on why.
Why did the Falcons fire Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot?
Asked about reporting that indicated the Falcons might be leaning toward keeping Raheem Morris and possibly Terry Fontenot with the end of season winning streak, Blank indicated that based on the full season (and dating back to last year, too), the Falcons weren’t performing well enough to keep their coaching staff and front office intact.
“You evaluate a team throughout the entire season…it was my conclusion, as the season went on, that we could not achieve or were not achieving at the level this roster was capable of performing at,” Blank said. “The expression that I often use is that good is the enemy of great, and I think we’re capable of getting to another level.”
When asked by 92.9’s Joe Patrick about why they were let go, Blank referenced the caliber of leadership and the team’s performance versus expectations, given what he clearly thinks is a talented roster. The team is hoping to hire the president of football first, Blank said, in order to help hire a general manager and head coach. The owner said he’ll be available during the process to offer any wisdom he can, make sure the team’s culture is built the right way, saying he intends to be a “support system” for the Falcons as is the case with the rest of his businesses. Ultimately the decision will still land with him—my words, not Blank’s—but the president of football should hopefully have final say on the hire.
Sportology found a lack of clear vision in the Falcons organization
You know by now that I have been beating this drum throughout a frustrating 2025 season. The Falcons have been guilty of incoherent, impulsive, and at times arrogant decision-making, and that has repeatedly led to poor outcomes and a cycle of hirings and firings that fail to dig them out of mediocrity.
Sportology delivered a more expensive and detailed version of my central thesis to Blank, apparently. While he didn’t dive into specifics too deeply, a muddied vision, muddled communication, and iffy accountability were mentioned.
From Tori McElhaney’s writeup, which saved me some time on transcription:
“It was a little bit surprising the lack of clarity about the vision for the team,” Blank said about the report’s findings. “In any business, any industry, when you don’t have clarity around vision and about what you are trying to establish and trying to build you’re going to end up with a lot of disparaged parts with everybody moving in different directions and that means you are not only unsuccessful — or even partially unsuccessful — but you will be very inefficient. As laser-focused as you can be about exactly what you want to do, you can make better selection of players, coaches, coaching staff, to hold that kind of consistency in place, and then you modify over time to depending on what’s happening within the game because the game is changing.”
Blank confirmed Matt Ryan is a candidate for president of football role
We knew this, because of the wealth of reporting out there, but Ryan is interviewing for the new role. Blank had a lot of praise for him, as you’d expect.
“His EQ and IQ when it comes to football are extraordinarily high,” Blank said. “He’s an outstanding individual, great community leader, and the kind of person you’d certainly want to consider in that position.”
Blank added that the team would be interviewing other candidates—they announced two completed interviews on Thursday night—but the reporting out there continues to be consistent that Ryan is the expected hire.
Michael Penix Jr. is the franchise quarterback
Look, the owner’s words in January when the team doesn’t have a general manager or head coach should be taken with a grain of salt. But Blank indicated that Penix is indeed still viewed as a franchise quarterback by the owner, and based on the team’s ongoing flirtations with Matt Ryan, likely by the former franchise quarterback too. I’d like to stress that’s my view.
“I do think Michael is our franchise quarterback,” Blank said.
Blank expressed confidence that Penix’s third ACL surgery, this one to a knee he previously had not had ACL surgery on, went well and that he would come back stronger for 2026.
“The surgeon felt one thousand percent secure in the medical procedure they went through, and they really felt his knee was going to be even better than it was before,” he said.
My expectation is that Penix will get a shot as this team’s starter again when he’s healthy, and the Falcons will sign a bridge quarterback/alternative option with experience this offseason. Penix may not get more than the 2026 season, however, especially if injury becomes a factor again.
Is recently fired Ravens head coach John Harbaugh a candidate in Atlanta?
Blank said yes, assuming that Harbaugh wants to interview. He’s widely connected to the Dolphins and Giants jobs, so we’ll see.
