Report: Falcons talking to Matt Ryan about joining front office

If you think nothing these Atlanta Falcons do can surprise you, think again.

Per FOX Sports insider Jay Glazer, the Falcons are talking to franchise legend and current CBS Sports analyst Matt Ryan about joining the franchise in what Glazer calls a “significant” front office role. After some jokey conversations about Ryan getting back out there for the Falcons, given how well 44-year-old Phillip Rivers has fared in recent weeks, the team’s longtime franchise quarterback may instead be helping to guide the direction of the team; Glazer says sources close to Ryan indicate he’s seriously considering it.

Because this is so out of left field—Ryan would re-join the team with zero experience as a coach or scout in what is to this point an unspecified role—it’s natural to have questions. Let’s tackle a few of those now.

Why would the Falcons do this?

There are multiple reasons.

If Ryan is being hired as the general manager—which would be a massive leap—it would be about installing someone Arthur Blank knows, likes, and highly regards atop a personnel department that has had an inconsistent track record for the past decade. If it’s it in more of an advisory or assistant role, it would be about getting an extremely intelligent, honest, and sometimes blunt voice in the front office to weigh in on decisions and try to guide this team to more success.

The role matters—more on that below—but the underlying thought process is the same. As a quarterback and then an analyst, Ryan piloted the Falcons to unprecedented success in his career and has become good at breaking down what ails teams; he’s been asked to do so fairly often with Atlanta alongside Zach Klein, Todd France, and Aaron Donald on The Inner Circle podcast. Ryan would be expected to grow into whatever role he occupies despite his lack of experience, something he seems extremely capable of doing, but the “significant” nature of whatever role he’s taking on means he should be expected to have decision-making power or at least a major voice in decisions from the jump.

This makes the most sense if Ryan is slotting into the existing power structure, because he knows Terry Fontenot from their shared year-plus in Atlanta and knows Raheem Morris extremely well after the pair were both employed by the Falcons from 2015-2020. If Arthur Blank were looking to soften the fan ire for keeping Morris and Fontenot while getting a fresh, trusted perspective in the building that (most) fans still appreciate and respect, this would be a logical move. Few people who are not inside the Falcons building understand how it has operated over the past two decades better than Ryan, with all the good and bad that implies, and the few years he’s been spent outside of that power structure should give him ideas as to how to shake things up.

Why would Matt Ryan do this?

Ryan’s already proven to be a good announcer and analyst, and he’s said repeatedly in the past that he’s not interested in jumping back on the field (even if he believes he could do it) or coaching. Would he really leave that career to re-join the team that unceremoniously traded him away in 2022, even if they inducted him into their Ring of Honor?

It’s got to be a strong consideration. Despite the exit, Ryan has been around the Falcons plenty since, and clearly has a relationship with everyone from Arthur Blank to Raheem Morris. If he wants to get back into the non-announcing side of football again, this would give him the chance to do so in a way that would launch what could be a long-term front office career. It would also give him the chance to be a hero for the Falcons for a second time in a different role, if he’s able to help guide this team back to winning ways they haven’t enjoyed since he was in the prime of his playing career.

Chances are he’d be well-compensated, would work with familiar faces in a role where (I’m speculating here) he’s not the final decision-maker but would get to guide personnel choices and coaching staff decisions, and would not have to travel across the country as frequently as he does today; that might be a plus with a young family. It’s a chance to lift a franchise that Ryan still clearly loves, despite all its many warts, and to do burnish his reputation as a football mind the same way the Falcons provided a stage for him to burnish his reputation as a player. In the right gig, I can see it being appealing, despite Atlanta’s woes over the past eight seasons.

Is it a good idea?

Obviously, this is the big question. The answer is unknowable, given the variables at play here and the fact that Ryan would be taking on this sort of job for the first time in his life, but the chances of success may heavily depend on the role.

As a general manager, Ryan would be stepping in to the role the same way John Elway did for the Broncos back in 2011; Elway had never been a scout or coach in the NFL but was the CEO of the Arena League’s Colorado Crush for six seasons prior to joining the Broncos. Elway’s tenure ended poorly but did feature five straight playoff berths, two Super Bowl appearances, and a Super Bowl win, so it can hardly be said to have been a failure. The Falcons would be banking on Ryan’s lack of experience being less of a negative than his football intellect, and would look to surround him with experienced help to identify the players and coaches who could push this player over the top.

That would be a massive risk. Teams do not generally take the Elway route for a reason, because there’s no guarantee just being a smart former quarterback will translate to being able to successfully run a football team. Elway also had been away from the Broncos for the better part of 15 years, had presided over an Arena League team, and had time to think about what a career as a GM would look like; Ryan has only been out of the NFL for three seasons. The Falcons would have to give Ryan plenty of help, which means nailing any assistant and scout hires they want to make, and be willing to endure some growing pains on the job after eight straight losing seasons. That would mean patience, little-to-no meddling, and strong hires across the board, and the Falcons have struggled with all of those items for a while now. Ryan might be good enough to overcome all of that and he might not; the problem would be that his lack of experience would make it impossible to confidently forecast a good outcome. I like and trust Ryan enough to believe in him, but that’s just belief from a fan who thinks he’s a bright guy who cares about the Falcons. It’s not concrete.

If Ryan is taking on a role where he’s less responsible for personnel decisions but, say, is there to put his thumb on the scale and either oversee Terry Fontenot and company or at least weigh in on the decisions they’re making with enough power to sway them, it’s less risky and frankly more intriguing. Ryan would be able to grow into that role with less pressure on him while providing what is hopefully a differing perspective on building this team. The Falcons clearly need new voices in their power structure; the hope would be that Ryan could provide it while wielding the power to hold other decision-makers accountable for failures.

The biggest problem with that last role? It would seem to imply the general manager and (likely) head coach would stay, given that it would be tough to bring in a new hire with Ryan standing over their shoulder unless he got to make that hire. For those of us who believe Fontenot and Morris have mismanaged the last five and two seasons, respectively, with not enough positives to outweigh the considerable negatives, you have to believe that Ryan could steer things back in a positive direction and/or that GM and head coach would make 2026 the year where we start seeing wins. That’s a big ask for year one of Ryan, and a big ask of the existing brain trust given how frustrating the Falcons have been. Will it take heat off Blank, Fontenot, and Morris if the owner is intent on keeping everyone around? I don’t think it will get the job done to the extent the team may believe, but we’ll find out; we are dealing with a lot of unknowns right now.

Regardless, this would be a moribund franchise making a big bet on a beloved former player to be a piece of the puzzle for a better tomorrow. It’s not difficult to imagine Ryan bringing some fresh ideas and perspective to the Falcons. His chances of success likely will depend on his role, and there is no guarantee that someone without the experience usually demanded for candidates in prominent front office roles will be able to push Atlanta in a new and better direction. A team that has been mired in such a long string of losing seasons needs to make significant changes, though, and like us the Falcons will dare dream that their lone MVP can be a game-changer in a very different role. All that remains is to see whether Ryan will take on a new challenge, and if so, exactly what that role will be.