NFL insider on Falcons potential GM and coaching changes

The Falcons are doing that thing again where they start piling up wins at the end of the season once they are already out of contention, picking up their second straight victory on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals. The game was highlighted by Bijan Robinson’s 168 yards from scrimmage and yet another Kyle Pitts touchdown, as he finished with 57 yards on seven catches.

If we’ve learned anything from Falcons owner Arthur Blank over the last several seasons, it’s that how a head coach finishes a season can ultimately determine his fate. Going back to Dan Quinn, four straight wins to end the 2019 season bought him another year before he was fired midway through 2020. On the flip side, Arthur Smith was widely viewed as safe before the Falcons were blown out in back-to-back games to end the 2023 season, which led to the hiring of Raheem Morris.

Because of that, it’s impossible to know what Blank might be thinking a couple of weeks from now, but NFL insider James Palmer is reporting that there is a growing belief around the league that changes are coming in Atlanta.

“That’s a spot I’m hearing around the league that more and more people believe could be more likely a change than one staying pat. I think they are analyzing everything in that building, from Terry Fontenot on down.”

There really is nothing Terry Fontenot or Raheem Morris should be able to do to save their jobs. Fontenot is in his fifth season as general manager and has yet to oversee a winning season. He was instrumental in the decision to hire Morris, and the goals were clear after the Falcons took not one but two big swings at quarterback two years ago by signing Kirk Cousins and drafting Michael Penix Jr. Neither move has worked out anywhere close to what they hoped.

Morris hasn’t shown he has learned from the mistakes he made during his stint with the Buccaneers. He whiffed on all three of his initial coordinator hires, has struggled with in-game decision making, and most damning of all, the Falcons simply haven’t shown up on several occasions under his watch. This is a roster with real talent, and they still managed to lose seven of eight games in the middle of the season. That doesn’t happen with competent coaching.

The reality is that Fontenot and Morris are tied together. The Falcons cannot fire Fontenot and saddle the next general manager with Raheem Morris. They also shouldn’t allow Fontenot to hire another head coach after five straight losing seasons and a failed experiment with Morris.

They either both stay or both go. It’s hard to imagine how Blank could justify keeping both after a season that was essentially over by Thanksgiving. He is an emotional owner who can be swayed late in the year, but a looming Monday night matchup with the Los Angeles Rams — one of the NFC’s elite teams — could serve as the perfect reminder that the men currently running this organization are not the ones to lead it forward.

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