New Falcons GM Ian Cunningham has to break franchise's cycle of mediocrity

But there are some positives that they can hopefully take going into the offseason with a new management team leading them.

Stefanski, a two-time Coach of the Year winner, will have an opportunity to prove his overall poor record with the Cleveland Browns was a reflection of them and not him. He did more with that franchise than any coach has done since their return to the NFL in 1999, while he was one of the hottest names during the head-coaching hiring cycle this offseason. 

He and Cunningham are also taking over an organization that has one of the best players in football to build around in running back Bijan Robinson. Robinson is the type of player, who with the right coach and system, could take over games and be a franchise-changing player due to his ability as both a runner and pass-catcher. 

They hope they have a good young quarterback already in place in Michael Penix Jr., who still has three years of his rookie contract remaining. Penix Jr. has injury concerns, but the talent is there and he has shown flashes of being a productive player over his first two seasons in the league. Having a potential answer at quarterback already in place could be a huge advantage. Especially when that quarterback is still on a rookie contract. 

They also play in one of the most winnable divisions in football where they finished in a three-way tie for the top spot this season.

This is not a hopeless situation, and there are definitely some pieces to build around in a winnable environment within the division. The task now is on them to take all of that and finally give Falcons fans something that is not a completely mediocre product.