The Falcoholic
Arthur Blank met with media on Thursday for the first time since the team fired Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot, and predictably he was asked a lot of questions about those firings, what’s next for Atlanta, and what consulting firm Sportology found wrong with the organization.
Calling himself “a custodian of the franchise for the fans” and referencing the “pain, anguish, and frustration” both he and fans felt during another lost season, Blank made it clear change was needed. He also elaborated somewhat on why.
Asked about reporting that indicated the Falcons might be leaning toward keeping Raheem Morris and possibly Terry Fontenot with the end of season winning streak, Blank indicated that based on the full season (and dating back to last year, too), the Falcons weren’t performing well enough to keep their coaching staff and front office intact.
“You evaluate a team throughout the entire season…it was my conclusion, as the season went on, that we could not achieve or were not achieving at the level this roster was capable of performing at,” Blank said. “The expression that I often use is that good is the enemy of great, and I think we’re capable of getting to another level.”
When asked by 92.9’s Joe Patrick about why they were let go, Blank referenced the caliber of leadership and the team’s performance versus expectations, given what he clearly thinks is a talented roster. The team is hoping to hire the president of football first, Blank said, in order to help hire a general manager and head coach. The owner said he’ll be available during the process to offer any wisdom he can, make sure the team’s culture is built the right way, saying he intends to be a “support system” for the Falcons as is the case with the rest of his businesses. Ultimately the decision will still land with him—my words, not Blank’s—but the president of football should hopefully have final say on the hire.
You know by now that I have been beating this drum throughout a frustrating 2025 season. The Falcons have been guilty of incoherent, impulsive, and at times arrogant decision-making, and that has repeatedly led to poor outcomes and a cycle of hirings and firings that fail to dig them out of mediocrity.
Sportology delivered a more expensive and detailed version of my central thesis to Blank, apparently. While he didn’t dive into specifics too deeply, a muddied vision, muddled communication, and iffy accountability were mentioned.
From Tori McElhaney’s writeup, which saved me some time on transcription:
“It was a little bit surprising the lack of clarity about the vision for the team,” Blank said about the report’s findings. “In any business, any industry, when you don’t have clarity around vision and about what you are trying to establish and trying to build you’re going to end up with a...
