Falcons owner Arthur Blank gives big John Harbaugh, Michael Penix Jr. updates

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank dismissed head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot shortly after the team's season came to an end on the first Sunday of January. 

While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Blank acknowledged the obvious regarding former Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.

The Ravens fired Harbaugh this past Tuesday. 

Falcons owner shares John Harbaugh plea

"He would certainly be a person we would be interested in talking to, assuming he has interest in talking to us," Blank said about Harbaugh, per Josh Kendall of The Athletic. 

Harbaugh reportedly won't interview with teams before next week at the earliest. As of Thursday afternoon, he was being heavily linked with the New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins. 

"We want to have (the president of football) in their seat and have them lead the interviews with the head coach and general manager going forward," Blank explained. 

The Falcons are reportedly expected to hire franchise icon Matt Ryan as their president of football, but the club first must complete in-person interviews with at least two external minority candidates to satisfy Rooney Rule requirements.

How does Arthur Blank view Michael Penix Jr. amid uncertainty? 

Falcons quarterback and 2024 first-round draft pick Michael Penix Jr. needed surgery to repair a partially torn ACL in November. His status for the start of the 2026 season is uncertain. 

Meanwhile, the Falcons recently reworked the final two years of the contract veteran signal-caller Kirk Cousins signed back in March 2024. Atlanta reportedly will release Cousins with a post-June 1 designation before March 13 of this year.

On Thursday, Blank insisted he believes Penix will prove to be the Falcons' long-term QB1. 

"The surgeon felt 1000 percent secure in the medical procedure they went through, and they really felt his knee was going to be better than it was before," Blank said about Penix, per Matt Urben of Falcons Wire/USA Today. "He's on a successful rehab program. ...We look forward to having Michael back. He's had good surgery. We've spoken with the medical staff. It seems to have gone well. Kirk, we'll see what'll happen going forward."