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Falcons
CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones says it’s not clear right now whether the president of football position the Falcons are conducting a search for right now, as they restructure their organization, will qualify as the NFL’s “primary football executive.”
Traditionally, the primary football executive has been the general manager, who has final say over the roster and the draft. As teams have experimented with different power hierarchies, that role has become harder to define. Atlanta has said the general manager and head coach will both report to the president of football ops, which is similar to the structure the Titans had this past year.
However, the Titans just announced they had flattened their structure to give GM Mike Borgonzi the primary football executive designation, with him and president Chad Brinker reporting to ownership.
Former Falcons QB Matt Ryan has emerged as a favorite for the president role, per Jones and multiple other reports.
The Falcons have hired two different search firms to run the searches for head coach and general manager, which Jones points out is unusual. He adds he’s been told the firms will not be involved in the decision-making process and will only help with background checks and logistics.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank , new team president Greg Beadles , and Blank’s son, Josh Blank , will be the main braintrust in this process, per Jones. Beadles is taking over for former team president Rich McKay , while Jones notes the younger Blank, in his late 20s, is being prepared for a larger role.
Moving on from HC Raheem Morris alongside GM Terry Fontenot was a slight surprise, but Jones says the Falcons believed a clean slate and reset at both positions would give them the best shot to get the best candidates.
