NFL Insider Drops Atlanta Falcons Bombshell

The Atlanta Falcons are in the midst of a five-game losing streak, and the path to the franchise’s first winning season since 2017 has grown increasingly difficult. Given the Falcons' current record (3-7), they would need to win six of their remaining seven games. It is only Week 12, but the season has gone completely awry for the Falcons. 

Considering what was expected from this team coming into the season, this is far below what ownership or this fanbase would have wanted to see. Could a change be imminent in Atlanta? 

NFL insider Ari Meirov called it the “No. 1 hot-spot in the NFL” in terms of potential firings. Falcons head coach Raheem Morris is 11-16 as head coach, but 5-13 in his last 18 games. 

There was already heat on the Falcons’ head coach, but Meirov claimed that it could go beyond just the head coach, adding that general manager Terry Fontenot’s job could also be on the line after he made some ambitious moves that have not panned out. 

Most recently, Meirov cites the aggressive move that Fontenot made to acquire James Pearce Jr. in last spring’s NFL Draft and how it has turned into a top-10 selection in the 2026 Draft. 

“The way they handled this rebuild and roster and putting it all together,” Meirov said. “If you’re not going to be winning, it’s a reckless way to do it, and it eventually comes back to bite you.”

Fontenot was hired as the general manager of the Falcons in 2021 after the team parted ways with Thomas Dimitroff. In his five seasons in charge of personnel, the Falcons have struggled with roster depth. 

He has had several shortcomings as general manager of the organization, but specifically at the quarterback position. Since he took over, the team has started a different signal caller in each Week 1 matchup of his tenure. 

First, Fontenot was aggressive with his targeting of Deshaun Watson in 2022, but settled for Marcus Mariota. Then, he put the reins of the team in the hands of Desmond Ridder, who is no longer in the NFL. After that, he signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract ($90 million guaranteed) off of an Achilles injury, before making a controversial selection of Michael Penix Jr. in the subsequent draft at No. 8 overall. 

Fontenot has made bold moves, but none have worked out in his favor to this point, and the Falcons are 32-46 since he took over as general manager.

“When this is the result you’re getting, when you’re going to have a top-10 pick – and that pick does not belong to you – there’s going to be blame somewhere,” he said. 

Meirov added that Rich McKay, who he calls the “right-hand man” of owner Arthur Blank, could also find himself caught up in the mix because of how he played a role in pushing for the hire of Morris over other options who have since gone on to have success. 

“I think the ownership group is going to have to take a hard look at everybody here, because these are guys they decided to keep when they fired Arthur Smith the first time,” Meirov said. “Terry Fontenot, Rich McKay, they are the ones who convinced ownership to go out there and hire Raheem Morris over that list of Mike Vrabel, Ben Johnson and Mike Macdonald and Bill Belichick and Jim Harbaugh.

“The people who convinced Arthur Blank to do it were Terry Fontenot and Rich McKay. There’s going to be a lot of real, serious discussions here in Atlanta as this year goes on.” 

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There is still time for the Falcons to turn things around this season. In the wake of Penix being placed on the injured reserve on Monday, Cousins will take over under center for the next four games. If the team were to catch a spark, things could always turn in the favor of this regime, but the insider does feel confident that it will happen. 

The Falcons are set to kick off against the Saints on Sunday for Week 12 action, with kickoff set for 1:00 p.m. in New Orleans. A positive result there could always jump start a resurgent second-half, but it would need to come quickly for a team who feels like it is reeling. 

If the Falcons can’t steady themselves soon, the shakeup Meirov suggested may already be inevitable.