There was a movement afoot in recent years to bring in Falcons team president Rich McKay to oversee the NFL's football operations, according to sources with knowledge of the situation, but it was scuttled by the league's owners and their drive to curtail spending at the NFL offices.

Commissioner Roger Goodell was among those championing the move at the time, with the league's football operations department under fire for its handling of the "Bountygate" scandal, the Ray Rice domestic violence situation and the "Deflategate" controversy. There have long been concerns about how smoothly and efficiently that department has functioned and McKay, who has vast experience operating NFL teams and extensive league contacts from his time heading the Competition Committee, was seen as a top candidate to take a new position atop football ops.

However, the owners have been pushing for years to streamline the operation at Park Avenue and greatly curtail spending there, and the Compensation Committee was not in a position where it would sign off on adding such an expensive executive position. If anything, the league office has been in cost-cutting mode, with many departments functioning on a lower headcount than in the past.

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McKay is very highly thought of by Goodell and, prior to the ugly and public drama surrounding the commissioner's new contract extension in 2017, the Falcons executive was seen as someone Goodell might champion as his possible replacement. With Atlanta having secured its new stadium already, some close to McKay believe he would have relished such a position at the league office, though it's considered a moot point by now.