Falcons overhaul power structure: Arthur Blank seeking new 'president of football'

The Falcons are creating a 'president of football' role that the new GM and coach will report to

One day after firing head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot, the Atlanta Falcons are making even more moves as owner Arthur Blank reimagines the future of the franchise.

The Falcons are creating a "president of football" position to which the new general manager and head coach will report. Longtime Falcons executive Rich McKay will remain with Blank's larger group of family business, but he will no longer be the CEO of the Falcons after more than two decades near the top of the food chain with the team.

Lastly, Falcons president Greg Beadles will assume the role of team CEO. His focus has been and will remain on the business operations. The new president of football will, of course, oversee football.

It is a seismic shift in the way the Falcons will do business. Atlanta has not been to the playoffs since the 2017 season, and since then Blank has fired three different head coaches and two general managers as he embarks on yet more searches for team leaders.

At present, it is unclear if the president of football position will be considered by the NFL league office to be the "primary football executive" role that generally goes to a general manager. Who has say over the 53-man roster and the draft is usually a team's primary football executive. Just last week, the Titans cleared up their organizational chart after confusion from the previous year with their own president of football operations and GM.

Legendary Falcons quarterback and CBS Sports analyst Matt Ryan has been linked to a front office role in Atlanta, according to multiple reports and sources. Sources say Ryan is being considered by the team for the president role. Ryan and CBS Sports have not commented.

The Falcons will want to move quickly with their searches, which is evidenced by the team hiring two separate sports consulting firms for the head coach and GM jobs. While plenty of franchises hire search firms, sources cannot recall a time a single franchise hired two firms in the same year. Those firms will not be involved in the decision-making process and will only help with background checks and logistics, according to a source.

Blank and Beadles will clearly be part of the leadership group making decisions on these positions. So, too, will Josh Blank, the sone of the owner who, in his late 20s, has for years been preparing himself to have an increased role with the team -- and some day lead it.

McKay ends his direct ties with the team after originally joining the club in 2003 as its general manager. He served in that role until 2008, when he moved to president/CEO of the team until 2023. McKay was in charge of football operations in that position while Beadles oversaw the business side. The new president of football will assume McKay's previous duties as he moves over to Blank's AMB Sports and Entertainment.

On Sunday night, the Falcons fired head coach Morris after just two seasons, as well as Fontenot after five seasons. Sources said the Falcons believe a clean slate and reset at those positions will make both jobs more desirable to candidates.

The Falcons can begin virtual interviews as early as Wednesday. In-person interviews with candidates currently employed by other teams cannot begin until Jan. 19.

The Falcons have to abide by league rules on high-level jobs, interviewing the appropriate number of external candidates from minority backgrounds before landing on their choice. If Atlanta wishes to move quickly on the GM and head coach interviews, it is logical to believe the Falcons will want to have the president of football installed with some haste.