A look back at the NFL hiring cycle in 2024

Another disgusting loss to the Jets has Raheem Morris sitting on the hottest seat in the NFL. Arthur Blank has proven over the years that he can tolerate mediocrity, but the one thing that always forces his hand is embarrassment. And the Falcons have embarrassed themselves on far too many Sundays this season, leading many to believe a coaching change is inevitable.

The problem? Falcons fans can’t even get excited about that anymore.

Atlanta has already fired two coaches since 2020, and the processes that led to hiring the next guy were arguably more embarrassing than the product on the field. Think back to early 2024 — a lifeless Week 18 showing against the Saints sent Arthur Smith packing, and the search for the next head coach began. However, it was evident rather immediately that this search wasn’t like the others around the league.

General manager Terry Fontenot didn’t speak. He didn’t explain the firing. He didn’t outline what the coaching search would look like. Instead, Arthur Blank and his right-hand man Rich McKay — a figure the team previously tried to present as no longer involved in football operations — took the wheel.

The Falcons then interviewed some of the best coaching candidates available. Most of which are now winning elsewhere:

• Mike Vrabel (Patriots): 10-2
• Ben Johnson (Bears): 9-3
• Mike MacDonald (Seahawks): 9-3
• Jim Harbaugh (Chargers): 8-4

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But instead of making a serious push for any of those candidates, the Falcons decision came down to two names — Bill Belichick and Raheem Morris — with an internal power struggle resulting in the hiring of Morris.

Reports from that hiring cycle painted a picture of dysfunction. Blank wanted Belichick, the most accomplished coach in NFL history, but members of his circle reportedly pushed back, fearing for their own future if he came in with sweeping control.

Would the top candidates have actually taken the job? We don’t know. Ben Johnson stayed in Detroit for another year as offensive coordinator. Harbaugh had Justin Herbert waiting. Vrabel wound up exactly where most assumed he wanted to be. Maybe the Falcons passed on them. Maybe they passed on the Falcons.

But either way, the root cause remains the same: Atlanta is not a serious franchise at the organizational level.

They do things differently. They chase optics instead of results. They zig when the league zags, and somehow end up with pie on their face every time.

The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Morris was the safe choice — positive, cooperative, willing to operate within the confines of a strange power structure. And the best candidates wanted no part of that. Unless real self-reflection occurs among the people at the top — Arthur Blank, Rich McKay, and the inner circle — the next coaching cycle is going to look exactly like the last one.

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Photo: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire

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