Tag: Rich McKay

10 quotes from Falcons’ coaching search press conference

10 quotes from Arthur Blank and Rich McKay’s Monday press conference discussing the Falcons’ coaching search

The Atlanta Falcons held a press conference on Monday afternoon to address their dismissal of head coach Arthur Smith. The presser featured team owner Arthur Blank and CEO Rich McKay, but general manager Terry Fontenot was noticeably absent.

Blank and McKay touched on a number of topics, from their meeting with Smith to the Fontenot’s role in the coaching search. Here are 10 quotes from Monday’s 88-minute press conference.

Falcons to begin search for next head coach immediately

The Falcons will begin their search for a new head coach immediately… with Arthur Blank and Rich McKay leading the way.

The Atlanta Falcons don’t plan to waste any time in beginning their search for a new head coach. Shortly after confirming the dismissal of Arthur Smith, the team announced it would begin looking for Smith’s replacement immediately.

Team owner Arthur Blank and CEO Rich McKay will lead the search with input from general manager Terry Fontenot, according to Falcons digital editor Scott Bair.

Atlanta released a statement on Smith’s dismissal, thanking him for his hard work and explaining the team’s reason for moving on. Blank said the product on the field wasn’t meeting expectations. Smith produced the same 7-10 record for all three seasons as head coach.

During his first two years, some even praised Smith for being competitive with a subpar roster. But in 2023, expectations were raised and the team’s play ultimately failed to live up to them. We won’t have to wait long to see if the team’s rumored interest in Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was real or not.

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Atlanta’s Rich McKay ‘really jacked’ Giants’ George Young finally made Hall of Fame

Atlanta Falcons president and CEO Rich McKay is “really jacked” that late New York Giants GM George Young finally made the Hall of Fame.

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Modern day NFL executives have role models, too. In the case of Atlanta Falcons president and CEO Rich McKay, it’s former New York Giants general manager George Young.

Young was finally elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame last year as part of the league’s Centennial class. No one was more excited than McKay, the son of former Tampa Bay Bucs and USC coach John McKay, and a long-time executive in the NFL.

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“I am really jacked,” McKay said on a recent “Eye Test for Two” podcast on fullpressradio.com. “I didn’t like George. I loved George. I considered George a friend, a mentor. He was a special guy for me. I have so many memories of George, but what I loved about George was … incredible how his path got him to be, in my mind, one of those founding fathers of the NFL.

“And you say: How is that possible? He wasn’t there for the first 100 years. No, but he was there at a critical time of the league. And he did so much for the game.”

Many have echoed McKay’s sentiments regarding Young, who is credited with not only the monumental task of turning around the New York Giants in the 1980s, but creating the front office structure that many organizations have gone on to model.

Young was a five-time NFL Executive of the Year and his work with the Baltimore Colts, Miami Dolphins and Giants all resulted in championships.

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Falcons owner Arthur Blank commits to Matt Ryan, Julio Jones

During an interview with Andrew Siciliano of NFL Network, Blank confirmed the reports and said he expects both players back.

Earlier this week, it was reported that the Falcons have yet to have any trade discussions regarding quarterback Matt Ryan or wide receiver Julio Jones. During an interview with Andrew Siciliano of NFL Network, team owner Arthur Blank confirmed the reports and said he expects both players back.

“I’d be shocked, completely shocked if he was not,” said Blank. “It really has nothing to do with his contract. Matt is playing — and has played — at a very high level for us since 2008 when we drafted him.”

As for Jones, Blank expressed a similar statement about the future of Atlanta’s All-Pro receiver.

“Same question was raised regarding Julio Jones and we expect Julio to be a Falcon next year and play at a very high level as well. They’ll both be with us.”

Blank went on to note Kansas City’s approach of drafting Patrick Mahomes to sit behind veteran Alex Smith. With five quarterback prospects projected to go in the first round, Blank’s words could be indication that the Falcons are fully prepared to take Ryan’s successor in the 2021 NFL draft.

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Rich McKay: Falcons ‘will definitely’ interview Raheem Morris for HC

After winning three of four games under Morris, though, the Falcons have gone 4-5 since.

The Atlanta Falcons had no choice but to fire Dan Quinn following the team’s 0-5 start in 2020. With 11 games remaining, Raheem Morris was given the job on an interim basis and started out hot.

After winning three of four games under Morris, though, the Falcons have gone 1-4 since. As frustrating as this season has gone, particularly the past three games, Morris has done some good things.

Team president Rich McKay isn’t overlooking the young coach’s contributions. During an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s D. Orlando Ledbetter, McKay said Morris would definitely get an interview:

“He will definitely, in the process, be interviewed,” McKay told Ledbetter. “He inherited a situation — we were 0-5. When you’re an interim coach with 11 weeks to go, that’s more than challenging. He’s earned that right to be interviewed, and he will.”

It shouldn’t surprise anyone to hear Morris is getting a formal interview. In fact, it would be bigger news if the Falcons weren’t going to interview the interim coach once the season is over.

The players have stuck together under Morris, the team has played better in just about every area — outside of some recent offensive struggles — and he isn’t responsible for the team’s current cap situation or roster holes.

Will Morris get the job? Probably not but if the Falcons somehow beat the Chiefs and Buccaneers in Weeks 16 and 17, he’s got a real chance to win over team owner Arthur Blank.

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Rich Mckay says new Falcons GM must ‘factor in’ Matt Ryan, Julio Jones

With two weeks left in the season, it won’t be too long before the Falcons hire a new general manager to lead their organization.

With two weeks left in the season, it won’t be long before the Falcons hire a new general manager to lead their organization going forward.

Team president Rich McKay joined Atlanta sports radio on Monday afternoon to discuss some criteria the Falcons will consider with each candidate. More specifically, he was asked whether a candidate’s perception of Matt Ryan and Julio Jones would factor in to the team’s final decision.

“The answer is it does factor in,” said McKay. “It effects the division of the football team.”

With both players taking up a large portion of the cap next season and not playing up to their standard in 2020, it was always assumed that these two would play a role in helping select the next GM.

McKay’s remarks are simply confirmation of that. However, it’s still unknown exactly what the team wants to do with Ryan or Jones. As stated before, both players would be nearly impossible to be move due to their cap hits and will certainly be back in 2021.

“You got to have a vision on how those players are going to fit in the future and you got to be able to articulate why, and how they will get us to the place we want to be,” said McKay. “When you deal with players as good as Julio and Matt, and as good as they’ve been, their vision for those players does matter.”

This isn’t McKay saying whether or not he prefers Ryan or Jones to stay in Atlanta, but more so, how will any incoming GM or head coach handle the two star players. Do they believe the Falcons can get quality production from this pair or is the team better off absorbing the massive cap hit and taking on a major rebuild?

Both Ryan and Jones are exceptional athletes and despite what some may believe, can still help the team win games. When Atlanta’s offense sputters the way it has as of late, it’s very easy to point fingers at the team’s two best players.

With the Falcons currently on track to land the No. 5 pick in the 2021 draft, there are a number of different directions they could go next season and beyond.

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VIDEO: Falcons CEO Rich McKay on Raheem Morris, trade deadline

After an 0-5 start, the Atlanta Falcons decided to start cleaning house and fired both head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff.

After an 0-5 start, the Atlanta Falcons decided to start cleaning house and fired both head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff.

A brief midweek shutdown of team facilities following a positive COVID-19 test made interim coach Raheem Morris‘ first week running the team even tougher. Nonetheless, the Falcons showed up in Week 7 and absolutely hammered the Minnesota Vikings to win their first game of the year.

And while it always feels good to win, Atlanta is still likely to undergo serious offseason changes. The team’s CEO and current interim general manager, Rich McKay, joined NFL Network to talk about the present and the future of the Falcons going forward.

McKay praised Morris for the job he did in Week 6, and even discussed the trade deadline as mostly unrealistic rumors continue to swirl. Check out the full segment below, as shared by the team’s Twitter account.

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Falcons name Jeff Ulbrich defensive coordinator, fire Ben Kotwica

It was time for the Atlanta Falcons to make a change after their Week 5 loss to the Carolina Panthers dropped them to 0-5 in 2020.

It was time for the Atlanta Falcons to make a change after their Week 5 loss to the Carolina Panthers dropped them to 0-5 in 2020.

On Sunday night following the team’s loss to the Panthers, head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff were relieved of their duties. Falcons CEO/team president Rich McKay will assume football operations, while defensive coordinator Raheem Morris has been named Atlanta’s interim head coach.

The team announced more changes on Monday afternoon, firing special teams coach Ben Kotwica and promoting LBs coach/assistant head coach Jeff Ulbrich to defensive coordinator.

The Falcons promoted running backs coach Bernie Parmalee to special teams coordinator, and named Will Harriger the new RBs coach.

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Arthur Blank praises QB Matt Ryan, but doesn’t know what future holds

Falcons owner Arthur Blank was also asked about the future of 35-year-old quarterback Matt Ryan, and his answer left quite a bit of wiggle room.

The Atlanta Falcons shook things up following their fifth-straight loss to open the season, firing both head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff on Sunday night.

Team president and CEO Rich McKay will take over the football operations side from Dimitroff and defensive coordinator Raheem Morris will act as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. These changes were expected, but they also create uncertainty over the direction of the franchise going forward.

Both Falcons owner Arthur Blank and Mckay addressed the media on Monday about the process of finding a new GM and head coach. Blank was also asked about the future of 35-year-old quarterback Matt Ryan, and his answer left quite a bit of wiggle room.

Blank talked of his admiration for Ryan, but also said he would leave the decision up to the team’s new head coach and GM, along with Ryan’s own preference. Watch his comments below, as shared by ESPN’s Vaughn McClure.

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NFL rule proposal for 4th-and-15 attempt instead of onside kick fails

The recent proposal for NFL teams to attempt a 4th-and-15 conversion following a score failed to pass for the second consecutive year.

The proposition for NFL teams to skip an onside kick and go for it on fourth-and-15 from their 25-yard line following a score failed to pass for the second consecutive year.

This rule was proposed in response to the extremely low probability of an onside kick being recovered by the kicking team, which was 10.7% for the 2019 season. Research found that plays that require converting a fourth-and-15 after a score have a 28.6% success rate.

NFL competition committee chairman Rich McKay told USA TODAY that teams do not want to make it too easy for an opposing team to come back from a deficit.

“There definitely is that theory that you don’t want to make a comeback too easy,” McKay said. “You’ve worked hard all game to be ahead, and you don’t want a rule change to come in and all of a sudden say, ‘We’re going to completely change the odds of you being able to preserve that lead.’ People wanted to hear those statistics. … In those people’s minds, ‘Let’s not make this too easy.’”

There have been a few new rule changes, but nothing related to onside kicks for 2020.

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