Raheem Morris. Terry Fontenot. Rich McKay. The Falcons’ Problems Start at the Top.

At 3-7 and with Michael Penix Jr. undergoing surgery on his ACL, a burning light is now being shined on Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot, whose futures with the Falcons appear to be in serious jeopardy.

Fontenot, Atlanta’s general manager, has been with the team for five seasons and has yet to oversee a winning campaign. There have been some positive developments this year, particularly with his recent draft choices along the defensive front. Atlanta’s pass rush has gone from one of the worst in the league to one of the best seemingly overnight, ranking second in sacks with 34, including 18 over the last three weeks.

Still, is that enough for Arthur Blank to overlook everything else? Fontenot’s overall draft résumé is mediocre at best, highlighted by one of the biggest busts in franchise history in Kyle Pitts, selected fourth overall ahead of Ja’Marr Chase, Micah Parsons, Penei Sewell, and Patrick Surtain.

But even more notably, Fontenot was part of the brilliant plan to pay Kirk Cousins $180 million in free agency and then draft Michael Penix Jr. eighth overall. Cousins didn’t even make it a full season as the starter before being replaced by Penix, who is now dealing with his fifth season-ending injury in the last eight years dating back to college.

Few GMs survive two massive swings-and-misses at quarterback, especially when those mistakes cost $100 million guaranteed and a top-10 draft pick. If Fontenot makes it another year, questions will have to arise about what kind of dirt he has on Arthur Blank — or whether he’s even the one making the decisions at all.

As for Raheem Morris, there aren’t many situations where a GM is fired and the head coach keeps his job. In the rare cases where that does happen, the head coach typically has an impeccable résumé.

Morris does not. He was a failed head coach in Tampa Bay, compiling a 17-31 record, and his stint in Atlanta is off to an eerily similar start, with 23 losses compared to just 15 wins. If the Falcons want any chance of hiring a desirable general manager, they must allow the next one to choose his own head coach.

However, for those who have followed the Falcons closely over the last eight years, it’s overwhelmingly clear there is a much more nefarious problem at the top of the organization: Arthur Blank and his right-hand man, Rich McKay.

“McKay’s fingerprints are everywhere — from his influence in the league office to his central role in the construction of Mercedes-Benz Stadium,” I wrote a few weeks ago. “But things get murkier around the time the Falcons hired Arthur Smith. As public criticism of McKay’s involvement in football operations mounted, the organization tried to quell the noise by insisting he was no longer part of day-to-day football decisions.

“That proved false the moment Smith was fired after the 2023 season. When the decision was announced, McKay sat alongside Arthur Blank, and it was those two who led the ensuing coaching search. Later, it came out that Smith met weekly with both men after every game.

“That search — steered by Blank and McKay — ended with the hiring of Raheem Morris, but not before the embarrassing Bill Belichick saga, which exposed an internal power struggle within the Falcons front office.”

Blank and McKay have been hiding behind the word “collaboration,” deflecting blame at every turn despite being the ones wielding all the power. The only way for the Falcons to escape this endless cycle of embarrassment is for Blank to look in the mirror and address the problems around him.

Given the relationship between Blank and McKay — and the history of Blank’s tenure as owner — that might not ever happen. But if there were ever an eight-year stretch capable of convincing even the most stubborn owner to change course, the last eight years in Atlanta, likely to span four different head coaches and three different general managers after this season, might just be enough.

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Photo: Photographer: Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire

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