Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank brought back a franchise legend when he decided to hire Matt Ryan as the team’s new president of football, but the move does not have a 100 percent approval rate.
“Matt Ryan has zero days in an office ever, knowing processes, understanding how things work, evaluations, valuations,” an NFL executive said, per a Monday report from Mike Sando of The Athletic. “It’s almost disrespectful.”
Ryan was just one major change for the Falcons in an offseason of transition, as they also fired coach head Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot and have since hired Kevin Stefanski as the new head coach.
Whether Ryan can find the right GM to rebuild the roster will likely go a long way toward determining how successful his tenure is, but the team can at least take solace knowing it has a two-time Coach of the Year now in Stefanski.
Blank told reporters the former quarterback is in charge of “everything between football and grass,” even though Greg Beadles is remaining as president and CEO.
That is plenty of responsibility for a first-time member of a front office, and at least one executive seems to believe Atlanta would have been better off hiring someone with more experience in terms of evaluating talent and building rosters.
Ryan worked in broadcasting following his retirement, but he will always be best known for his time under center in Atlanta.
The Boston College product was the 2016 NFL MVP and a four-time Pro Bowler who threw for more than 4,000 yards in 10 consecutive seasons from 2011 through 2020. He also led the Falcons to the Super Bowl during his MVP season, although they lost to the New England Patriots.
“To the Falcons fans, my mission since I was drafted has never changed,” Ryan said in his introductory press conference. “It is to help this organization do everything it can to be champions and to win championships. And there is a sense of unfinished business.”
If he can build a championship-level roster, those initial doubts will quickly fade away as he becomes more experienced.
