Falcons considered one of three “favorites” for John Harbaugh

Not a ton has come to light about the Falcons head coaching search, likely because the organization was initially focused on hiring the team’s next President of Football, which we now know is Matt Ryan.

The first round of interviews has been conducted with a number of candidates, but about the only thing that has been consistently supported thus far is that Atlanta is highly interested in John Harbaugh, and that the Falcons appear to be on the shortlist of places he would like to go.

Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer was the first to call the Falcons a “realistic” landing spot for the future Hall of Fame coach, along with the Giants, Dolphins, and Titans. New York has not been shy about its interest in Harbaugh, seemingly conducting a full-court press to get him in the building, but a couple of Giants reporters — including Connor Hughes of SNY TV — have pointed out that the Falcons are real competition.

Coaching candidates believe the race for John Harbaugh is down to Giants and the Falcons, per @Connor_J_Hughes

The expectation is the runner-up would turn its focus to Kevin Stefanski. pic.twitter.com/2hX2eAaRgV

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) January 12, 2026

The Athletic’s Dianna Russini added on Monday that the Falcons are one of three “favorites” in the race for John Harbaugh, also noting the Titans as a serious suitor because of Cam Ward’s strong performance at the end of the season and their very favorable cap situation.

As John Harbaugh continues to gather information about his next landing spot, I’m told the Giants, Falcons and Titans are considered the favorites to land the former Ravens head coach at this time. pic.twitter.com/ukw3mKWKc1

— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) January 13, 2026

The Falcons’ interest in Harbaugh is not the least bit surprising. Just a couple of years ago, Arthur Blank was eyeing Bill Belichick before ultimately being convinced by the people around him to pivot to Raheem Morris. There’s a reason those people are no longer in the building, and one would think Blank would like to right those wrongs during this hiring cycle.

Additionally, Matt Ryan got an up-close view of Harbaugh’s success in Baltimore. He knows what a well-oiled machine the Ravens were on both sides of the ball under his watch, and let’s be real, Ryan bringing in Harbaugh would be a hell of a way for him to reintroduce himself to the NFL in his first move as an executive.

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Photo: Ian Johnson/Icon Sportswire

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