A very encouraging sign if Falcons make a coaching change at season’s end

A win over the Saints will temporarily cool some of the fire surrounding the Atlanta Falcons right now, but unless Kirk Cousins can help the team mount a miraculous climb back up the standings over the final six weeks, tough decisions will have to be made on Terry Fontenot and Raheem Morris.

Arthur Blank isn’t typically an owner with a quick trigger when it comes to firing head coaches or general managers. Terry Fontenot is in his fifth season as GM and has yet to oversee a single winning season. But if that streak continues, it’s going to be extremely difficult to justify keeping him around for a sixth year.

And at that point, the writing may be on the wall for Raheem Morris as well. Despite this being just his second season as head coach, the Falcons have massively underperformed expectations under his watch, and the best GM candidates likely won’t be eager to take a job where the head coach is already in place.

The good news? Atlanta shouldn’t have any trouble attracting top head-coaching candidates if that’s the direction they choose to go.

“You won’t find someone who doesn’t want to coach this roster,” a league source told NFL insider Jonathan Jones.

For all the dysfunction, the Falcons do have plenty to work with on both sides of the ball. Drake London and Bijan Robinson are both top-five talents at their respective positions, and the pass rush has turned into one of the most feared groups in the league overnight. This roster is capable of competing for a playoff spot right now with the right coach, and outside of the remaining guaranteed money on Kirk Cousins’ contract, the cap sheet is relatively clean moving forward.

But the real issue that might prevent coaches and general managers from coming to Atlanta has nothing to do with the roster — and everything to do with the men upstairs. Arthur Blank, Rich McKay, and the rest of Blank’s inner circle wield all the power. They are far too involved in football decisions and have been for the better part of two decades.

The best coaches and general managers aren’t interested in what the suits have to say. They want control. And unless ownership steps back and lets real football people run the show, the Falcons will continue to miss out on the candidates who can actually get this organization back on track.

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Photo: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire

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