ESPN Grades Atlanta Falcons Hire of Kevin Stefanski

The Atlanta Falcons moved quickly and decisively after another disappointing season came to an end. Hours after their season-ending victory over the New Orleans Saints, word leaked that the Falcons were firing head coach Raheem Morris.

By mid-morning on that Monday, it had been confirmed that general manager Terry Fontenot was being fired and CEO Rich McKay was being re-assigned within Arthur Blank's empire.

Matt Ryan was hired last Saturday to be the President of Football, and the next Saturday, the Falcons announced two-time NFL Coach of the Year winner Kevin Stefanski as their next head coach.

Stefanski's time in Cleveland ended on a sour note as the six draft picks and $230 million of wasted salary in the Deshaun Watson deal took its toll. Couple his record the last two seasons with the scrutiny surrounding the highest-profile fifth-round pick of all time, and Stefanski has his detractors, including Skip Bayless.

ESPN NFL analyst Benjamin Solak, however, gave the Falcons a B+ for the hire of Stefanski.

"Stefanski was a generally strong coach in Cleveland, though his record (45-56) belied that performance," Solak wrote on ESPN. "The tools in the toolbox were never great with the Browns, and the Falcons are betting that Stefanski's reputation as a strong offensive mind will bear more fruit in Atlanta, where Drake London, Robinson and (potentially) Kyle Pitts Sr. represent the best offensive group Stefanski has coached."

While 45-56 is nothing to write home about, it's still the best winning percentage of any Browns coach since Bill Belichick (.450 to .446) from 1991 through 1995. Comparing Stefanski's first five seasons to Belichick's, and Stefanski comes out on top (.476 to .450).

This isn't to say that Stefanski is going to a Belichick level of success after leaving the Browns, but failing to post a winning record with the Browns isn't a definitive indicator of coaching prowess.

"Hiring head coaches immediately after they were let go elsewhere can be a risky option -- at times, those coaches are just burned out -- but I'd bet Stefanski has plenty to prove given how things unfolded in Cleveland," Solak concluded.

Belichick was 43 when he was fired by Cleveland. Kevin Stefanski is 43; he should have plenty of desire left in the tank.

The Browns swung big on Deshaun Watson and missed even bigger. Sustaining success after that failure was going to be impossible. Now, the Browns and Stefanski have a chance at a fresh start (not counting the $130 million they still have on the books for Watson), and that could benefit both parties.

Atlanta has been stuck in a rut of mediocrity for five seasons, either winning seven or eight games in each of those years. The Falcons are banking on Stefanski to help unlock a talented but inconsistent offense, clean up the time and game management issues that have plagued them, and fix their woeful special teams.