Once the face of the Atlanta Falcons, Matt Ryan is now calling the shots for the franchise as its new president of football and will guide the team's general manager and head-coaching searches.
How far does his position stretch in power? Well, Ryan insists that it won't involve him returning to the field.
"I'm not trying to call plays. I'm not trying to run your offense. I'm not trying to pull a Philip Rivers and come back and play," Ryan joked at his introductory press conference on Tuesday when talking about filling the Falcons' head coach and general manager vacancies. "I'm not doing any of those. I think, most importantly, I'm trying to get the right person in here in both of those positions."
Since Ryan isn't focused on returning to the field multiple years after he last played in the NFL – the 44-year-old Rivers started three games for the Indianapolis Colts this season after not appearing in an NFL game in five seasons – his Falcons and the Miami Dolphins are the two teams seeking a new general manager; Atlanta fired general manager Terry Fontenot after five seasons and head coach Raheem Morris after two years following the team's 8-9 2025 campaign, which marked its eighth consecutive losing season and eighth consecutive season without making the playoffs.
For general manager, Atlanta has interviewed Chicago Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham, Carolina Panthers executive vice president of football operations Brandt Tilis and San Francisco 49ers director of scouting and football Josh Williams.
Meanwhile, the Falcons are one of nine teams seeking a new head coach, the Dolphins, Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, Las Vegas Raiders, Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers being the other eight. Atlanta has spoken with former Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, former Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, former Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde and Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver.
As for Ryan, the 2016 NFL MVP and former four-time Pro Bowler is first in Falcons' history with 59,735 passing yards, 367 passing touchdowns, a 65.5% completion percentage (among qualified players) and 120 wins as a quarterback. Ryan spent the first 14 seasons of his NFL career with the Falcons (2008-21), most notably helping them reach Super Bowl LI, before spending one season with the Colts (2022).
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