The Falcons announced on Monday a flurry of personnel changes to the coaching staff. Most notably, Steve Jackson is now the secondary coach, Nick Perry is the assistant wide receivers coach, Lanier Goethie is the defensive front specialist, and Dave Huxtable is a senior defensive assistant. Included below is a complete list of changes:
Several of these hires are internal promotions. Jackson joined the team last year as a senior offensive assistant. Perry joined Arthur Smith’s staff during the first year of the new regime’s tenure, spending those couple of seasons as Atlanta’s assistant defensive backs coach. Goethie also joined the Falcons in 2021 and spent those two seasons as a defensive assistant.
Huxtable was a high-profile addition. The 66-year-old has spent his entire coaching career at the collegiate level, spending the last two seasons on Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama. He has ties to defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen due to the pair’s time at North Carolina State.
However, one of the most important assistant positions is still unfilled — the quarterbacks coach. Developing Desmond Ridder should be one of the Falcons’ top priorities, so that position has to be monitored throughout the offseason.
More must-reads: