Tag: Dave Ragone

Rams hiring former Falcons OC Dave Ragone as QBs coach

Zac Robinson replaced Dave Ragone as the Falcons’ OC, and now Ragone is replacing Robinson as the Rams’ QBs coach

The Atlanta Falcons hired Zac Robinson as their new offensive coordinator, and now the Los Angeles Rams are hiring the guy whose job he took to be their new quarterbacks coach. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Rams are hiring Dave Ragone, who was the Falcons’ offensive coordinator for the last three seasons. He’ll replace Robinson on the Rams’ staff, coaching Matthew Stafford and the quarterbacks next season.

Ragone, 44, has coached in the NFL since 2011, beginning as the Titans’ wide receivers coach for two years before becoming their quarterbacks coach in 2013. He also had a stint in Washington in 2015, which is where he crossed paths with Sean McVay, as well as a stop with the Bears from 2016-2020.

Ragone was actually on the Rams’ offseason roster in 2006 as a quarterback, but he was cut before the season began. He played in the NFL from 2003-2007, though he only played two games in his career as a member of the Texans in 2003.

Ex-Falcons offensive coordinator Dave Ragone named Rams QBs coach

Former #Falcons offensive coordinator Dave Ragone has been hired as the Rams quarterbacks coach

When the Atlanta Falcons hired head coach Raheem Morris, the former Rams defensive coordinator quickly got to work assembling his coaching staff. Morris opted to keep a few of Arthur Smith’s assistants, including special teams coach Marquice Williams.

However, former Falcons offensive coordinator Dave Ragone was not retained. Ragone served three seasons as Atlanta’s offensive coordinator from 2021-2023. Since Arthur Smith called the team’s offensive plays, Ragone didn’t have the duties of your typical offensive coordinator.

The Falcons brought in several former Rams coaches to work on Morris’ staff, including quarterbacks coach Zac Robinson as the team’s new offensive coordinator.

In an odd turn of events, Ragone was hired as the Rams’ new quarterbacks coach, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Monday.

Ragone is a former NFL quarterback who was drafted in the third round by the Houston Texans in 2003. His playing career didn’t last long, though, and he later began a coaching career in the NFL as a wide receivers coach in 2011.

The former Falcons offensive coordinator coached for the Washington Redskins and Tennessee Titans.

WATCH: Falcons OC Dave Ragone discusses QB change

“Taylor was brought here for a reason,” Falcons offensive coordinator Dave Ragone said about the team starting Heinicke in Week 9

The Falcons officially made a quarterback change on Wednesday, benching Desmond Ridder for high-priced backup Taylor Heinicke. The move wasn’t a total surprise, but head coach Arthur Smith hasn’t been clear about the team’s plans beyond Week 9.

Falcons offensive coordinator Dave Ragone discussed Atlanta’s quarterback change, expressing confidence in Heinicke against Minnesota.

“Taylor was brought here for a reason — because of his experience and the way he can handle certain situations,” said Ragone. “He showed that in the second half of the Tennessee game.”

ESPN’s Michael Rothstein asked Ragone if this was a permanent change, but the Falcons offensive coordinator didn’t give a clear answer.

The Falcons are four-point favorites entering Sunday’s game against the Vikings. Minnesota recently lost starting quarterback Kirk Cousins to a torn Achilles. Despite trading for Josh Dobbs, the Vikings plan to start rookie Jaren Hall.

Check out the Falcons’ depth chart, injury report and updated 53-man roster heading into Week 9.

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Falcons OC Dave Ragone to serve as QBs coach

#Falcons offensive coordinator Dave Ragone will serve as the team’s QBs coach this season.

The Atlanta Falcons announced nearly a dozen coaching changes Monday morning, but fans were still left wondering who would replace Charles London as the team’s quarterbacks coach.

After many speculated that wide receivers coach — and former NFL QB — TJ Yates would take over, head coach Arthur Smith said that offensive coordinator Dave Ragone will serve as quarterbacks coach this season.

Ragone, who was hired as offensive coordinator in 2021, is also a former NFL quarterback. Since Smith is the offensive play-caller, Ragone should be able to handle the extra responsibilities on offense.

The Falcons are gearing up for the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, which starts this week. Smith isn’t scheduled to talk to the media at the combine, but the team’s official website released a sit-down interview with Atlanta’s head coach on Monday afternoon.

Watch below, as shared by the team’s YouTube Channel.

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Falcons Thursday takeaways: Injury updates, new mock draft

Let’s take a look at the top Falcons news stories of the day, including the full injury report and a new mock from Draft Wire.

The Atlanta Falcons kicked off practice on Wednesday without four players, but all four would return on Thursday. Cordarrelle Patterson, who was given a veteran rest day, practiced in full while the other three were limited.

Let’s take a look at the top Falcons news stories of the day, including the full injury report, a new mock draft, and updates from all three coordinators as the team prepares for Sunday’s NFC South rematch against the Carolina Panthers.

Falcons QB Matt Ryan adjusting to new offensive scheme

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan will play for his fifth different offensive coordinator in 2021 but the former MVP is well-equipped to handle the changes.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan will play for his fifth different offensive coordinator in 2021, but the former MVP is well-equipped to handle the changes as he enters his 14th NFL season. Ryan talked about transitioning to another system following Wednesday’s practice.

“At this point in my career, it’s probably just the terminology,” stated Ryan. “There’s lots of concepts that are similar. Having run a lot of different schemes, there’s not a ton of new things I have not seen before that are here. It’s just translating that in your head what we’re calling it and being able to regurgitate that out of the huddle so fast.”

Ryan then broke down what the terminology means in regard to personnel formations. He noted that in past systems, sometimes specific formation calls like “train,” tells the formation build from inside out, which could be Z [receiver,], Y [receiver], F [receiver], left to right on the strong side. However, last season under Koetter, “train” meant F, Y, Z. While “train” remains the same wording and grouping, quarterbacks must have the mental fortitude to understand which player is placed where and how the personnel changes.

“Those kind of things that, they don’t sound like much, when you break the huddle and you expect in your head just knowing ‘alright, my F [receiver] is supposed to be here right now. Oh, no, no, no, that’s old train, this is new train, I got to move Kyle in here'”, stated Ryan. “That little stuff just takes a little longer to click.”

Ryan is making sure his young teammates are picking things up as well.

“I quiz these guys all the time, they’ll tell ya, walking around the building,” said Ryan — also noting that the quizzing won’t stop when training camp ends.

Atlanta has plenty of work to do to get back to the postseason in 2021, but the team’s lucky to have an experienced signal-caller like Ryan helping ease the transition.

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Falcons name four assistants to coaching staff

Atlanta hired Charles London as quarterbacks coach and Frank Bush as linebackers coach. Dwayne Ledford was brought on as the offensive line coach and the team will retain Danny Breyer as an offensive assistant.

The new Atlanta Falcons coaching staff is coming right together. The team named three coordinators — Dean Pees, Dave Ragone and Marquice Williams — on Thursday. On Friday, four more assistant coaches came aboard Arthur Smith’s staff.

Atlanta hired Charles London as quarterbacks coach and Frank Bush as linebackers coach. Dwayne Ledford was brought on as the offensive line coach and the team will retain Danny Breyer as an offensive assistant.

Bush served as the Jets defensive coordinator for the final four games of 2020 after the team fired Greg Williams.  His 30-year track record as a coach will bring some much-needed experience to this Falcons staff.

London was the running backs coach for the Chicago Bears for the past three years. Atlanta already poached passing game coordinator Dave Ragone from Chicago on Thursday. London also coached for the Houston Texans and prior to that, at Penn State.

Ledford has served as the offensive coordinator at Louisville since 2018. He’s played but never coached in the NFL as an offensive lineman for the 49ers, Jaguars, Panthers and Browns.

Breyer, a former analytics assistant for the Buccaneers, joined the Falcons staff as an offensive assistant last season. He will be retained in 2021.

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Twitter reacts to Falcons hiring three new coordinators

Both Raheem Morris and Jeff Ulbrich landed defensive coordinator jobs with other NFL teams. Then, the Falcons announced that all three coordinator vacancies had been filled.

What started as a quiet morning for the Atlanta Falcons quickly turned into a busy afternoon. Both Raheem Morris and Jeff Ulbrich landed defensive coordinator jobs with other NFL teams. Then, the Falcons announced that all three of their coordinator vacancies had been filled.

Dave Ragone, the former Chicago Bears QBs/passing game coach, was named as Atlanta’s offensive coordinator. Dean Pees, the former Tennessee Titans and Ravens assistant coach, will serve as the team’s defensive coordinator. And last but not least, Marquice Williams, the former Detroit Lions special teams assistant, will be the Falcons’ new special teams coordinator.

Let’s check in on Twitter to see how people are reacting to Atlanta’s latest hires.

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Falcons will retain wide receivers coach Dave Brock

One area where the Atlanta Falcons have shown undeniable player development over the past few years is at the wide receiver position.

One area where the Atlanta Falcons have shown undeniable player development over the past few years is at the wide receiver position. Calvin Ridley went from a great complementary option to Julio Jones, to one of the NFL’s elite players at the position in 2020.

Slot receiver Russell Gage put up career highs this season, while Olamide Zaccheaus was contributing before getting injured. All of this likely played a role in head coach Arthur Smith’s decision to retain Dave Brock, the wide receivers coach for the Falcons since 2019, on his staff in 2021.

Prior to his two-year stint as WRs coach, Brock coached the running backs and served as an offensive assistant for another two years on Dan Quinn’s staff.

Brock will be back but all three of the team’s coordinators have been replaced. Atlanta announced on Thursday that Dean Pees will serve as defensive coordinator, Dave Ragone as offensive coordinator, and Marquice Williams as special teams coordinator.

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Falcons hire Dave Ragone as offensive coordinator

The Falcons have found their new offensive coordinator, agreeing to terms with Bears passing game coordinator Dave Ragone to join Arthur Smith’s coaching staff.

The Falcons have found their new offensive coordinator, agreeing to terms with Bears passing game coordinator Dave Ragone to join Arthur Smith’s coaching staff.

Ragone spent four seasons as Chicago’s quarterbacks coach before being promoted to passing game coordinator in 2020. The Falcons also hired the former Titans and Ravens defensive coordinator, Dean Pees, to the same role in Atlanta.

For special teams coach, the team has hired former Lions assistant special teams coach Marquice Williams.

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