The Falcoholic
As Atlanta gears up for another season with high expectations, the similarities to six years ago raise questions about its recent personnel and coaching decisions.
Under Arthur Blank’s ownership, the Atlanta Falcons have turned to familiar paths and faces in their decision-making more often than not. For every bold draft trade or unique coordinator hire, there are many occasions they made the supposed safe decision where they’ve leaned on history to make pivotal decisions. Look no further than hiring Raheem Morris last offseason.
While that decision was justified at the time, given Morris’ development and success with the Rams, it was a moment when the Falcons opted for familiarity with his years of history with the team.
The jury is still very much out on Morris, but there are signs around him that this offseason feels too common, predictable, and flawed. The excitement around two young, highly decorated pass rushers is understandable. Rejuvenating a secondary lacking in depth and speed was necessary. There are still major questions.
How much can four rookies change a unit in their first season when the organization must produce a division-winning season? Will they be able to prove trading away valuable draft assets was well worth it for the talent they acquired over the last two years?
Although the 2019 team was built around a veteran group trying to make the playoffs for the third time in four seasons, there are similarities with how the team was constructed that offseason to be successful in a pivotal year. From a major coordinator decision to first-round draft aggressiveness to underwhelming free agency, there are evident signs of how comparable 2019 is to this year’s offseason.
The current team is younger and on a different path following two disappointing seasons where they fell short of the playoffs, and this will not be a one-to-one comparison. That doesn’t preclude the comparisons from 2019 of their recent attempts to bolster the roster and coaching staff.
It wasn’t surprising to see Jeff Ulbrich return to Atlanta. He was one of the more influential assistant coaches from 2015 to 2020, going from the linebackers coach to partially taking over play-calling duties in the middle of 2019 to becoming the interim defensive coordinator in 2020. Ulbrich has a strong reputation within the organization for being popular with his technical teaching and passionate leadership.
Deion Jones and Foye Oluokun played their best football under him. For all the positives of Ulbrich as the new defensive coordinator, it does feel similar to another move from the past that was understandable but fell completely flat.
Dirk Koetter returned as the offensive coordinator in 2019 after his chaotic tenure in Tampa Bay. It was one of those decisions to help Matt Ryan be more comfortable, rather than learning a new offense again.
That decision quickly became a regrettable one as the run game suffered, passing concepts felt uninspired, and protection sets were all over the place. There wasn’t much cohesiveness in a one-dimensional offense...
