The Atlanta Falcons have made their first big decision of the 2026 offseason, via NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, who reported Saturday morning that "The Falcons are hiring former star QB Matt Ryan as their new President of Football. The job created with him in mind, Ryan will now have final say in Atlanta."
This is a great start to the offseason that fans can only hope halts a consistent downward spiral since the former franchise quarterback was jettisoned from the organization.
Putting Ryan in charge of team operations should be the first step in steadying what has been an incredibly shaky last half-decade. Since pushing the quarterback out the door, the Falcons have attempted to find answers in Marcus Mariota, Desmond Ridder, Kirk Cousins, Taylor Heinicke, and Michael Penix Jr. Each starter came with their own set of failures and pointed to the fact that former GM Terry Fontenot and head coach Arthur Smith pushed the starter out the door without a clear second option.
Atlanta opted to chase Deshaun Watson despite the legal concerns and the potential high cost. This made it clear that Ryan was no longer part of the franchise's plans and all but forced the starter to spend his final season with the Colts. It was a mortifying way to handle the exit of, arguably, the greatest player in franchise history, only to set up the frustration of the past few seasons.
Falcons Attempt to Reverse the Curse Bringing Back Former Franchise Quarterback Matt Ryan
It is fair to wonder if the poor treatment of Ryan is what led to the failures of the past few seasons and the consistent bad decisions. Regardless, it is a great development to have the franchise leader back in Atlanta, and in a decision-making role at that. There will be a lot of say from Ryan in what the Falcons do at both the GM and head coach positions, which has already gotten underway.
Per Rapoport, now that Ryan has officially accepted the job, the franchise is wasting no time lining up head coach interviews, as Seahawks OC Klint Kubiak and Dolphins DC Anthony Weaver will both make their case for the job to be theirs on Saturday.
With this in mind, the Falcons are finally poised to turn the corner and begin building towards the relevance they haven't had since 2017. This is the last winning season the Falcons enjoyed, which hammers home just how long it has been since the team has put itself in the playoff picture.
While this past decade, for the most part, has been far from ideal, fans can only hope that the new leadership will result in more productive decisions and perhaps finally solve the issues at the quarterback position. Still, there is reason for slight trepidation due to Ryan having no experience working in a front office or running a team's football operations.
As elite a leader and player as the QB might have been on the field, he is going to need to prove himself as an off-the-field decision-maker. One that is capable of reversing the seeming curse placed on a franchise that hasn't had a winning season in nearly a decade and continues to invent ways to lose in the clutch. Leaving the hiring as a chance to begin anew and give fans hope that perhaps there are better days ahead in what is a pivotal 2026 offseason.