Falcons fire three defensive assistants after hiring Ryan Nielsen The Falcons hired Ryan Nielsen as their new defensive coordinator Friday. That meant the end of three defensive assistants’ time in Atlanta. The team announced it has parted ways with defensive line coach Gary Emanuel, outside linebackers coach Ted Monachino and secondary coach Jon Hoke. Nielsen, who is leaving the Saints, will get to hire most of his own staff. Emanuel just completed his second season with the Falcons, his 40th season of coaching overall. He also previously has coached the defensive line of the 49ers (2005-06), Colts (2012-17) and Giants (2018-19). Monachino coached two seasons in Atlanta, and 2022 was his 16th season of coaching in the NFL. He previously was defensive line coach of the Jaguars (2006–09), the outside linebackers coach of the Ravens (2010-15), defensive coordinator of the Colts (2016-17) and senior defensive assistant and outside linebackers coach of the Bears (2019-20). Hoke was with the Falcons for two seasons as well. He has 42 years of coaching experience, including 18 in the NFL. Hoke also was defensive backs coach of the Texans (2002-08), Bears (2009-14) and Bucs (2016-18). The Falcons recorded 21 sacks this season, which ranked 31st in the league, and they were 23rd in points allowed and 27th in yards allowed. PFT
Those are some ugly stats needing attention ASAP and the Falcons know it. Hopefully with Nielson's ability to use a heavy rotational approach he can get the right combos in there for different situations and turn this around. If the Falcons are 'deep' enough, fresh bodies would be very advantageous throughout a ballgame. The Saints have a few pending DL free agents that could follow Nielsen to Atlanta, Marcus Davenport, David Onyemata, Tanoh Kpassagnon, Shy Tuttle, Kentavious Street and Albert Huggins. If just 1 or two came over to the ATL, it might help in having some extra bodies, with experience and familiarity with Nielson and could be ideal for a rotational type defense. It would pay hugely if Nielson can hire a defensive line coach, LB's coach and someone to take the secondary with experience in a more powerful attacking approach... in my opinion, the Falcons need to be more aggressive on that side of the ball. One thing I read Nielson was very good at was the run-stop. The Saints' defensive line was one of the best in the NFL during Nielsen's watch, not allowing a 100-yard rusher in 55 consecutive regular season and postseason games between 2017 and 2020. Different personal in Atlanta, but hopefully he can create some of those same results he had in New Orleans. From what i gathered when he was looked at by the Vikings, Nielson is a 4-3 base guy all the way and the scuttlebutt was that Kevin O'Connell was very willing to switch back to the 4-3 (would have made me happy as a lark) to accomidate him and his style. This little tid-bit is very cool also; Nielsen, 43, arrived in New Orleans in 2017 and was a transformative force. The Saints became a top-10 defense overnight, allowing the 10th fewest points in the league that season after ranking 31st in points allowed in 2016. They have ranked in the top 10 for sacks and run defense each of the past four seasons. New Orleans ranked fifth in total defense this season. The Saints’ 48 sacks ranked fourth in the league, with 30 sacks and 45 tackles for loss coming from the defensive line, per Sports Illustrated. What’s most impressive is Nielsen has gotten that production out of his defensive line while the Saints blitzed at the sixth-lowest rate (16.8%) in the league. Bottom line to all this is Nielson likes the 'big-uglies' up front that play hard, mean and contain the run. I think this will bode well at getting the chances to blitz more often with the corners as well as LB's. All the players that commented about him said he was a no-nonsense guy and you better be thick skinned around him... very intense and demanding, but actually knows his business having played on the DL in college. Anyways, the Falcon's got their guy for now and Im hoping it pays off as well as it did when he walked onto the field in New Orleans. PS - I really couldnt find anything dirty or negative about this guy and he sounds like a perfect fit for the Vikings, but nooooooo.
Report: Falcons working on a deal to hire Packers assistant Jerry Gray The Falcons hired a new defensive coordinator Friday, naming Saints co-defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen. Packers defensive backs coach/pass game coordinator Jerry Gray interviewed for the job. Gray appears headed to Atlanta anyway. The Falcons are working on a deal with Gray, Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports. Gray has spent the past three seasons as an assistant on the Packers’ staff, but he isn’t under contract for 2023, per Rob Demovsky of ESPN. Gray and Falcons head coach Arthur Smith were on the same staffs in Washington in 2007-08 and with the Titans in 2011-13. Gray was the Bills’ defensive coordinator from 2001-05 and the Titans’ defensive coordinator in 2011-13. Gray also interviewed with the Bears for an unspecified position on their staff. PFT
Curious that Arthur Smith basically created a whole new coaching role on his staff just to have a second top level defensive mind around him. I guess he has a structure in mind as to who really is in charge of the defense between Nielsen and Gray. I'm sure it will help that Gray specializes in the coverage while Nielsen is line/pass rush. Also noteworthy... there are still some defensive position coaches and assistants remaining, for now. That might change on Friday. The trick is that the Falcons were chosen to coach the East team in the Shrine game on Thursday. Linebackers coach Frank Bush is the defensive coordinator, and the three remaining lower level assistants (including Dean Pees' son) are acting as the other defensive coaches. (This is normal for the Shrine game. Arthur Smith and OC Dave Ragone are in supervisor roles, and the lower level coaches all get to step up to higher roles for the week. Tight ends coach Justin Peelle is acting as OC. The noteworthy name missing is QB coach Charles London, who was tagged to be one of the OCs for the Senior Bowl.)
Falcons “feel pretty good” about Kyle Pitts’ recovery from torn MCL Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts missed the final weeks of the 2022 season after tearing his MCL and the team gave an update on how he’s recovering from the Shrine Bowl in Las Vegas this week. Pitts was injured in a Week 11 win over the Bears and had surgery a short time later. Tight ends coach Justin Peelle said this week that Pitts is “on schedule” in his recovery and head coach Arthur Smith signaled the same. “It’s an ongoing process every day,” Smith said, via Josh Kendall of TheAthletic.com. “Ultimately, what matters is getting ready for training camp. Feel pretty good about where he’s at.” Before his injury, Pitts’ posted 28 catches for 356 yards and two touchdowns. That production was down from the 2021 first-round pick’s rookie season and the hope in Atlanta will be that good health and better quarterback play moves Pitts back in a better direction. PFT
Indeed. Falcons fans actually have a lot to be happy about coming out of 2022. Having both Drake London AND Kyle Pitts as receiving targets for Desmond Ridder next year is pretty high on the list. I'm also stoked about the way all of the running backs have become solid contributors in the passing game.
There is a lot of talent on that team... getting them all on the same page and executing is on the coaches. If they succeed in this (coaching/organization/schemes) they will be a force to be reconned with.
Falcons RB Tyler Allgeier: 2023 NFC Rushing Yards Leader? Following a strong rookie season, analysts predict that Atlanta Falcons star Tyler Allgeier could transcend into the NFC's top rusher. Heading into next season, Atlanta Falcons running back Tyler Allgeier is primed to pick up where he left off and build upon his impressive rookie campaign. This has led some analysts to place lofty expectations on Allgeier's second season, with Sports Ilustrated predicting that the 22-year-old will "lead the NFC in rushing yards." As a rookie, Allgeier rushed for 1,034 yards on 210 carries at 4.9 yards per carry. Amongst running backs, his rushing yards ranked No. 14 in the league and No. 8 in the NFC. Heading into his second season, the BYU product is set to make noise during his sophomore campaign. Thanks to Allgeier improving fundamentally as a third-down pass protector and refining his route running, he has made it easy for the Falcons' front office to move on from veteran and elite receiving back Cordarrelle Patterson. Next season, coach Arthur Smith will continue to push an offense that will open up massive holes for the powerful rusher. Allgeier will be a true three-down back and inherit an Atlanta backfield that was No. 3 in the entire league regarding total rushing yards with 2,718. The Falcons had one of the top rushing attacks in the entire league last season despite teams being able to load the box due to the lack of vertical offense Atlanta was able to provide. If the current trade rumors tying Baltimore Ravens quarterback and former MVP Lamar Jackson to Atlanta come to fruition, expect Allgeier to increase his yards per carry over five and become even more efficient as a runner as teams would struggle to gameplan for the threat of both the passing and rushing offense the Falcons could deploy with Jackson at the helm. Stay tuned to what happens this offseason at quarterback because an increased passing threat could set Allgeier up to snag the NFC rushing crown. FALCON REPORT/FN
The other beautiful thing about Allgeier becoming the feature back is that it opens the door for Patterson and for Avery Williams to line up more as WRs. Patterson was set back by injury last year, which is part of why the team would want to ease his load as a RB. He had 548 receiving yards (and 5 touchdowns) in 2021, and WR is his natural position. Avery Williams doesn't really have a true "natural" position, having been drafted largely for his special teams skills. He was a high school RB who played CB in college - but was better known as a return man. But he did RB and WR drills at his pro day, so the idea of converting him to offense was clearly on the table from the outset. So he's a work in progress as a RB/WR. Something I find amusing... he had more YAC last year than yards. His receptions were mainly screen passes in the backfield, designed to get him the ball in space and let him use that 4.43 speed. With another training camp, maybe they can add wheel routes and quick slants to his repertoire. The team started throwing more outlet passes to Allgeier himself later in the season. If he can continue to develop that part of his game, look out.
I think the offense is down right stacked and is really going to fly and take off (falcon pun alert) with the experience from last season with Ridder getting some action. Im really hoping the best for him and the whole 'flock'. They have the tools to get really creative and keep the defenses off balance. The D must improve to balance things out (captain obvious alert)... gave up 130+ on the ground last year and 231+ through the air. Not the worst, but still in the bottom 3rd of the League. If the defense improves just a little bit, watch out.
The sad thing about that is that the Falcons haven't had an actual GOOD defense since Dan Reeves had Wade Philips as his defensive coordinator. And even that defense fell apart in the years after Reeves had his bypass surgery - mainly due to personnel decisions and neglect of the defensive side of the ball by Reeves (who had control over personnel). By 2003 the whole team was falling apart and the defense was the worst in the NFL. Donatell stepped in and made some nice fixes for 2004, but he didn't get close to cracking the top ten. From 2006 through 2010 the team poured massive resources into the defense and managed to get up to #12 in 2011, Brian VanGorder's final season as DC. That's a high point, but with so many top draft picks and free agent signings going into the defense, it truly should have been a top five unit. And then Mike Nolan took it back to the bottom of the league in just three years. Dan Quinn never got it back into the upper half of the league. Dean Pees didn't have the players available to do much of anything in his two seasons either. So now it's Nielsen's turn.
I think there will be a lot of changes because of him and his no-nonsense approach, especially in the run-stop department. If he rubs off on the defense like the Lions under Dan Campbell's rough and tough attitude, the discipline just might be whats needed and things will turn around for the better... hopefully. Thats why, or one of the reasons, Im digging Flores in Minnesota more and more, its his my way or the highway attitude. I like a coach with spirit and I hope Nielsen brings that to the Falcons.
Still no news on filling out the rest of the coaching staff. I'm a little surprised. They fired all the other defensive position coaches except for the inside linebackers coach soon after Dean Pees retired. Nielsen has a solid background with defensive linemen, but you wouldn't expect him to do double duty as the defensive line coach. Jerry Gray has the title of Assistant Head Coach / Defense, though he actually might double as the secondary coach. They also fired the guy coaching the edge rushers (officially the outside linebackers coach). I would have figured those positions wouldn't be too tough to fill. I'm a bit surprised they're waiting or taking so long - you would want the new staff to be fully on board, reviewed game film of the players currently on the roster, and have met with the other coaches and scouts before the start of free agency and before the Combine and pro days get underway. On the offensive side, the QB coach role is still open. Someone like T.J. Yates (currently the WR coach) could slide over - Yates was a QB himself. But I'm sort of hoping for Pat O'Hara, who is still with the Titans as an analyst. Actually, the pipe dream would be to get Bill Musgrave back in Atlanta, but I don't see that happening. O'Hara should be a very real possibility though, especially considering his ties to head coach Arthur Smith.
Falcons re-sign Parker Hesse The Falcons have re-signed tight end Parker Hesse as an exclusive rights free agent, the team announced Thursday. Hesse blocked for the third-best rushing attack in the NFL as the Falcons averaged 159.9 yards per game on the ground. He also contributed 89 receiving yards on nine receptions. He played all 17 games with seven starts in 2022, seeing action on 646 offensive snaps and 221 on special teams. Hesse, 27, originally signed with the Titans following the 2019 draft Draft out of Iowa. He played on the defensive line in college. Hesse has totaled 14 receptions for 132 yards the past two seasons for the Falcons. PFT
Hesse was one of the guys I listed as a priority. Not exactly earth shaking as far as signings go (the team hasn't even posted it on their official web site yet), but he's one of those unheralded difference-makers that every team needs. In particular, Hesse is as much of a fullback as he is a tight end.
The Falcons announced a number of changes to their coaching staff on Monday morning. Headlining the changes is Steve Jackson’s move to secondary coach. Jackson joined the Falcons as a senior offensive assistant last year after spending the previous two seasons as the Bengals’ cornerbacks coach. He’s also worked for the Jets, Titans, Lions, Bills, and Washington since ending a nine-year run as a Titans safety in 1999. Nick Perry is moving from assistant defensive backs coach to assistant wide receivers coach, Lanier Goethie will shift from defensive assistant to defensive front specialist, and Dave Huxtable is joining the team as a senior defensive assistant. Matt Baker has been hired as a special teams assistant. He played at North Carolina with Falcons head coach Arthur Smith and Huxtable was the school’s defensive coordinator at that time. The Falcons also announced that Steven King and Patrick Kramer have been named offensive assistants. Mario Jeberaeel will be the special projects: defense coach, Shawn Flaherty is now the assistant offensive line coach, Michael Gray will be a football analyst, and Mateo Kambui will work with the offensive line as the Bill Walsh Diversity Coaching Fellow.
At a more personal level, the biggest congratulations goes to Steven King. Becoming a generic "Offensive Assistant" doesn't seem like a big deal, but he was last year's Bill Walsh Diversity Fellowship coach working with special teams. It was his second time in that Fellowship program (the first was with the Raiders a few years ago), and this time he made enough of an impression that the team he's with is keeping him on board. He has worked his way up through the high school, junior college and college coaching ranks, and now he's starting that process at the NFL level.
