The Falcoholic
He’s here. Kevin Stefanski is Atlanta’s newest head coach, and he faces a daunting job with these Falcons fresh off a rough stint in Cleveland. The Falcons were one of the league’s most exciting teams a decade ago and Stefanski one of its most promising coaches more recently than that, but the past several years have diminished both.
Now begins a critical chapter for team and coach. The Falcons need to break an eight-year streak of losing seasons and prove they haven’t just been collecting interesting talent with no real team-building plan, and they’re turning to Stefanski to wrangle this roster into a winner. Stefanski needs to—and wants to—show that the losing and dysfunction that came to define the past couple seasons of his tenure with the Browns was due to the front office and ownership more than his ability to coach and lead. Matt Ryan shied away from a first-time head coach or a truly familiar face and went with a seasoned, offensively minded option well-regarded by past players but fired by one of the least competent organizations in football. Like every other hire this cycle and every other cycle, it’s a bet rather than a sure thing.
So why did the Falcons hire Stefanski? What does he bring to the table, and where might he stumble?
There are a few reasons.
One is demeanor, which we’ll end up talking about a lot in this piece. Matt Ryan clearly remembers his days with Mike Smith, Mike Mularkey, Kyle Shanahan, Dirk Koetter, and Dan Quinn fondly, because he described someone with the ability to be calm and even-keeled, a coach who can connect effectively with players, and a proven leader as some of his requirements. There will always be quibbles, but Stefanski clearly checked those boxes with the Falcons; their level of interest in John Harbaugh (similarly regarded as a reasonable, players’ coach option) tells you they were looking hard at a certain personality type.
While Ryan promised not to be married to an offensive-minded head coach, casting a wide net with interviews, the Falcons always seemed likely to hire one. Their offensive coordinator carousel under Dan Quinn in particular—they ran through Kyle Shanahan, Steve Sarkisian, and Dirk Koetter in six seasons—likely left a lasting impression on Ryan, who is looking to get this organization to build around Michael Penix Jr. or (failing that) another young quarterback who will benefit from continuity and stability. The failure of Zac Robinson to consistently lift the Falcons offense underscored how fraught the hiring process can be for a defensive-minded head coach, too, but the Falcons have far too much money and far too many draft picks invested in that side of the ball for mediocrity.
The Falcons, no strangers to losing and dysfunction of their own, likely came to feel comfortable with Stefanski stepping into a tough situation and being able to both keep his cool and lift the boats in Atlanta’s particular harbor. They know he lost...
