Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, Vrabel is in Los Angeles to interview with the Chargers on Thursday. While that’s Vrabel’s first known interview of the coaching cycle, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports the Seahawks and Falcons also have interest in meeting with Vrabel about their head coach vacancies.
The initial story - and this one from Florio - leaves out two other key points. One is that the first meeting or one-on-one "interview" was on Arthur Blank's yacht. The other is that Blank has a history of rolling out the red carpet when bringing in potential free agents or other targets, such as John Abraham when the team traded for him in 2006 (and he had to agree to the trade and a contract extension to make it happen). My take is the first meeting was a sales pitch. Blank wasn't really interviewing Darth Hoodie. He was selling him on the idea that the Falcons are better than their record indicated. The second interview will be the real one. I'm still not sure how I feel about the potential of hiring Harbaugh or Belichick. But I will say that I like the idea that the team is considering people with experience, including those two and Steve Wilks. All five of Blank's previous hires have been first time head coaches. I'm not crazy about that "and no interference whatsoever from CEO Rich McKay" crack. McKay hasn't interfered with any of Atlanta's head coaches in any way.
Ordinarily I'd say Vrabel would be someone I'd want, perhaps the top of the list. But with Arthur Smith and Vrabel having been so tight, that's a bit awkward.
Also... Bills interim OC Joe Brady. He's an interesting name that I would probably prefer to see as OC rather than as head coach, but I'll keep my fingers crossed that the team is doing due diligence and that he'd be up to the task if he's the choice. The background on him is that he was an offensive assistant for the Saints, then went back to the college game as LSU's passing game coordinator in 2019. He did well - his QB (Joe Burrow) lit it up and they won the national championship. Since then he's been working up the ranks in Buffalo, as QB coach for Josh Allen and now the interim OC. To me it seems too soon to push him all the way into the head coaching position.
Im a bit torn on both Jim and BB... great coaches, yes, but has BB 'burned-out' and seen better days? And Jim doesnt have NFL experience, so he might be a huge gamble as other great NC2A guys have come in and flopped at the Pro level? Vrabel is the 'safe' pick possibly? Its a tough call (for me anyways), so its a good thing if Mr. Blank takes his time before writing the 'blank' check.
Jim does have the NFL experience - he was head coach of the 49ers from 2011-2014, with tremendous success (three consecutive NFC Championship game appearances). He's kind of a jerk, but he has proven that he can coach at the NFL level. And... he's having a second interview with Atlanta. Meanwhile, Belichick is having dinner with Arthur Blank before his own second interview.
Add Lions OC Ben Johnson to the list of now-completed interviews. They got it in just under the wire, as coaches for teams that are still going after the divisional round are now off limits until their teams are done with the postseason. Yesterday they interviewed Texans OC Bobby Slowik.
It's official... Elvis has left the building. The Jaguars have hired Atlanta defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen, which they announced two days ago. The Falcons have not made any kind of formal announcement about his departure, but they have now removed him from the list of coaches on the team's official web site. So now it's "real". Our best coach is gone. Fun stat: Nielsen's defense had 42 sacks in 2023. The team had 39 sacks in 2021 and 2022 combined. And of course, a major concern for me with any coaching or scheme change is system fit. The team had drafted cornerback Darren Hall, linebacker Mykal Walker and safety Jaylinn Hawkins before Nielsen's arrival. They were good fits for the previous coaching staff but were not so successful under Nielsen and were all let go this year. Meanwhile, the team signed two of Nielsen's former players as big money free agents and drafted three players this season based on the desired profiles for his defensive scheme. Will David Onyemata, Kaden Elliss, and draft picks like Zach Harrison and Clark Philips still be good fits for the next DC and his scheme? Who knows... but that's our history in a nutshell. We churn through coaches and coordinators, and draft picks and cap space go up in smoke every single time. To me, this is the single biggest factor behind the team's consistent mediocrity.
I cant wrap my head around getting rid of Nielsen, makes zero sense, unless they already know who the future HC is and this mystery man has his own ideas. Or maybe Nielsen wanted out.
Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik is set for another chance to make an impression on Atlanta’s brass. Slowik will have an in-person interview with the Falcons on Thursday for their head coaching vacancy, according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero.
It's the other end of the spectrum. They don't know. My guess is that they were as honest and open as they could be with Nielsen, but that it came down to they don't know who the next HC will be and what direction the new coach will want to go on defense. So he was in an uncertain position here, while he knows beyond all doubt that Jacksonville wanted him and that the organization above and around him there is relatively successful and stable. Can't say I blame him. I'd make the move too.
The Falcons completed an in-person interview with Mike Vrabel for their vacant head coach position, the team announced Wednesday. This is Vrabel’s first interview with the Falcons, the 14th candidate to have completed a first interview. Three of those have completed a second interview.
T.J. Yates will be the Falcons quarterbacks coach It’s unclear who the quarterback will be in Atlanta this season, but we know who their position coach will be. James Palmer of NFL Media reports that former NFL quarterback T.J. Yates will be handling that role on Raheem Morris’ staff. Former Rams quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson will be the team’s offensive coordinator. Yates played for the Texans, Falcons, Dolphins, and Bills before moving into coaching with the Texans in 2019. He joined the Falcons as a passing game specialist in 2021 and has been the team’s wide receivers coach for the last two seasons. Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke both spent time as the Falcons’ starting quarterback this season, but neither one played well enough to get the Falcons into the playoffs. That’s why Morris replaced Arthur Smith as the head coach and the hope is that the new look will bear more fruit. NBC
Hot off the Press... The Falcons already had announced Zac Robinson as their new offensive coordinator. They now have filled the other two coordinator positions. The Falcons hired Rams assistant head coach Jimmy Lake as their defensive coordinator and retained special teams coordinator Marquice Williams. Lake will reunite with new Falcons head coach Raheem Morris for the third time. The two previously were together with the Bucs (2007, 2010-2011) and the Rams (2023). Lake left for the college ranks in 2012 and was at Boise State for two seasons and at the University of Washington for eight seasons, including two as head coach. He was suspended and then relieved of his coaching duties after a sideline incident with a player during the 2021 season. Lake did not coach in 2022. It is unclear whether Morris or Lake will call the defensive plays. Williams has spent the past three seasons with the Falcons. The Patriots and Giants were interested in interviewing Williams, but the Falcons denied permission to keep him on staff. NBC
The Falcons announced several members of head coach Raheem Morris’ staff on Wednesday. Those announcements included confirmation that assistant head coach/defense Jerry Gray will remain in the same role he held on Arthur Smith’s staff. They also confirmed that T.J. Yates will remain on hand, but move from wide receivers coach to quarterbacks coach. Offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford, running backs coach Michael Pitre, senior defensive assistant Dave Huxtable, director of coaching operations Sarah Hogan, and coaching operations assistant Donovan Ellison will remain with the team. Ledford will add the title of run game coordinator. The Falcons have also hired defensive line coach Jay Rodgers and chief of staff Steve Scarnecchia. Rodgers was the Chargers’ defensive run game coordinator/defensive line coach last season while Scarnecchia held the same title with the Jets. NBC
And more... he isn't listed on the team's page of coaches yet, but Atlanta hired former Chargers TE coach Kevin Koger to fill the same role in Atlanta. I wasn't sure if former TE coach Justin Peelle would be retained in some other capacity, but he's no longer listed at all, so I guess he's gone. Along those lines, something interesting I spotted is that the Falcons list the two assistant strength and conditioning coaches still on staff now, but the main strength and conditioning coach from Arthur Smith's staff, Dr. Thomas Stallworth, is no longer listed. I haven't heard anything about who might be replacing him. Barrett Ruud is reportedly joining the coaching staff as Inside Linebackers Coach. The opening popped up because former Atlanta LB coach Frank Bush and DB coach Steven Jackson were both hired away by Tennessee this week. It's not too much of a surprise, as both of them had strong ties to that organization (including as players for the Oilers) and had coached for the Titans before coming to join Arthur Smith in Atlanta. Ruud is an interesting choice as the replacement. He played for head coach Raheem Morris in Tampa, but this is his first NFL coaching experience. He was on staff at Nebraska and UCF, including coaching linebackers at Nebraska. I'm not going to knock the idea of bringing him in... the Falcons have young or developing LBs in Troy Andersen, Nate Landman and Andre Smith as well as the futures contract guys and whoever they draft or sign for camp. Kaden Elliss is the only true veteran in the group, and there's a chance he'll become more of an edge rusher next season (it's the move I would make if I were planning the starting eleven). Ruud is familiar with new head coach Raheem Morris and knows the expectations, but is young enough and has the college coaching background to focus on technique. I don't know if it really will work out, but I do see the potential. It makes sense - as opposed to some of the coaching moves Dan Quinn made when Raheem Morris was here before. Since T.J. Yates is moving over to become the QB coach, that left an opening at WR coach. Atlanta is reportedly hiring Ike Hilliard to fill that role. Hilliard is well known in the Deep South as a receiver for the Florida Gators back in the day. He has 11 years experience coaching WRs in the NFL, most recently with Pittsburgh in 2020-2021. But... he's been out of the NFL for the last two years, and apparently wasn't even coaching in the NCAA last year. I don't know much about his capabilities as a coach, but I hope he's going to work with the incoming prospects and fringe free agents on route running and techniques like body positioning. This is an area where I think the Falcons have needed help going back to 2017. Nothing against T.J. Yates, but I think he was more apt at coaching the concepts of the passing game and the plays, not things like how to shift your weight when you plant and cut or timing your leap to help block out the defensive back on a jump ball. Yates was a QB himself, not a receiver. Rams offensive assistant Nick Jones is coming over to Atlanta as the assistant offensive line coach. The previous assistant, Shawn Flaherty, is currently still listed on Atlanta's coaching page, so I don't know if he's staying on board in some other capacity. It wouldn't surprise me at all if he is, perhaps as a generic assistant. In fact, that could easily be the case because offensive assistant Steven King is moving over to become the Assistant Special Teams coach. The Falcons also have an offensive line assistant - just assistant, not assistant coach - who is also still listed on the staff. Mateo Kambui had spent two years in a coaching fellowship with Denver in 2021-2022. Last year was his first season with the Falcons. He's another one who might be retained in some capacity. But there's no word yet other than he's still listed as part of the staff. Chargers "offensive quality control coach" Chandler Whitmer is coming here as "pass game specialist". The description sounds like he was really sort of an assistant QB coach for the Chargers. Makes sense since he was a QB himself. He was also a graduate assistant for Clemson before stepping up as an NFL assistant. So we'll have two former QBs working directly with Desmond Ridder and whoever else comes aboard, and they won't be doing double-duty as OC. I'm happy with that. If we had that kind of coaching support for our QBs in 2023, I'd guess the Falcons would have made the playoffs, Arthur Smith and DC Ryan Nielsen would still be here, and we'd be talking about adding more support for Ridder rather than replacing him. I have no idea how skilled either of them are as far as teaching other QBs, but at least they have a hint of experience as coaches. So... strength and conditioning coach, OLBs and defensive backs coaches = TBD. I'd also guess a new generic defensive assistant or two will be coming aboard soon. Otherwise the staff is just about complete, and I can say with a sigh of relief that it seems logical up to this point. I don't know if they'll be upgrades or downgrades versus last year's coaches, but at least there's a hint of reasoning behind the selections.
Falcons DC Jimmy Lake: We’re going to play fast and free The Falcons need to sort out their plans at quarterback before they can fully dig into what they are going to do offensively in 2024, but they have a slightly better sense of what their defense is going to look like. New coordinator Jimmy Lake told reporters at a Tuesday press conference that the team is going to run a 3-4 base defense once they take the field. That alignment fits with the personnel on hand even if it isn’t likely to wind up being the way that the team regularly lines up given how frequently teams bring extra defensive backs into games. Regardless of the personnel on the field, Lake knows what he wants to see from the unit. “We’re going to play fast because we’re going to get fast players,” Lake said, via the team’s website. “But they’re going to play free because they know when we call that defense they can diagnose it, they can read and react.” An upgrade in quarterback play is essential to the Falcons’ chances in 2024, but it will only take them so far if the defense doesn’t hold up its end of the bargain. Making sure it does will be Lake’s top priority. PFT/ Josh Alper
