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The Atlanta Falcons in 2017 are not going to look the same as the 2016 version. That's not unusual, because football teams change drastically from year to year all the time, but there is significant coaching staff turnover for the 2016 NFC champions.

We already know that Kyle Shanahan is out as offensive coordinator and headed to San Francisco to be the 49ers head coach (you can see our full breakdown of all coaching hire grades here). Steve Sarkisian left Alabama to replace Shanny as offensive coordinator, which should ease the transition some, but it's still a huge change.

Even more changes are coming defensively as well, according to Alex Marvez of the Sporting News. Both defensive coordinator Richard Smith and defensive line coach Bryan Cox are set to be let go by the team.

On one hand, it's not surprising to see a team that gave up a 25-point lead in the Super Bowl decide to try and improve the defense by making changes.

On the other hand, the Falcons defense took a big step forward in the latter part of the 2016 season, with the young defense starting to gel and then looking incredible in the first half against the Patriots. The defensive line was getting pressure on Tom Brady, the secondary picked off Brady for a touchdown and they held the high-powered Patriots offense to just three points. Smith may not be done in Atlanta -- according to the reports, he could return in an advisory role.

In terms of replacements, Marvez reports the Falcons are likely to look at in-house candidates. Raheem Morris is a prime candidate, currently owning the title of Assistant Head Coach/Wide Receivers Coach. Morris is traditionally a defensive guy, having served as the defensive backs coach for the Buccaneers (2007-08) before being promoted to head coach and then as the secondary coach for the Redskins (2012-14) before making the jump to the Falcons staff.

There's also an interesting name on the roster, with ESPN's Vaughn McClure speculating that Dwight Freeney could be a potential candidate to help coach the defensive line if he retires.

McClure also reports that the Falcons will give "strong" consideration to current secondary coach Marquand Manuel as the next defensive coordinator.

Regardless, there's a lot up in the air for the defending NFC champs as they start to turn their attention to 2017. They're five weeks behind too without the benefit of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.