Football
Matt Ryan, who spent 14 seasons as the Falcons quarterback from 2008 to 2021, has returned to Atlanta to become the team’s president of football. Ryan will take over this newly created role to help get the team back to the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
Since stepping away from football after his one season with the Colts, Ryan spent time as an NFL analyst for CBS. Now, Ryan will have a very large role in Atlanta’s football decisions, but he doesn’t have any front office experience. What Ryan does have, though, is a 14-year relationship with team owner Arthur Blank.
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“I have full confidence and trust in Matt as we strive to deliver a championship caliber team for Atlanta and Falcons fans everywhere,” Blank said of the decision to hire Ryan.
After the announcement on Saturday, Ryan put out a statement on his decision to take the Falcons president of football position. While the former MVP acknowledged he has no experience in this aspect of football, he is ready and willing to dive in and take a “baptism by fire” approach to get this team back to where it should be.
“Arthur gave me the chance of a lifetime almost twenty years ago, and he’s done it again today. While I appreciate the time I had with the Colts and with CBS, I’ve always been a Falcon,” exclaimed Matt Ryan, the new President of Football in Atlanta. “It feels great to be home. I could not be more excited, grateful, or humbled by this new opportunity. I began my career with a singular goal, to do right by the Blank family, the Falcons organization, the City of Atlanta, and especially our fans. My commitment to the success of this franchise has not changed. I’m beyond ready to help write a new chapter of excellence.”
While with the Falcons, Ryan cemented himself as arguably the greatest Falcons player of all time, smashing every single quarterback record. He threw for a grand total of 59,735 yards in Atlanta with 367 touchdowns to add. Both are obviously franchise records by a wide margin. He also guided Atlanta to Super Bowl 51 while also winning the NFL MVP award that same season. At the time, the Falcons had one of the best scoring offenses in NFL history.
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“I know first hand what a great foundation this organization has and I’m confident we can build on that and cement a culture of accountability, tenacity, resilience and winning. Setting clear expectations for every single person who walks into Flowery Branch or puts on a Falcons uniform, reinvigorating our approach with strategic thinking, and being disciplined about finding near term wins to set us up for long term success,” Ryan added. “These are all priorities and principles I will bring to this role. I also recognize this side of football is not where I’ve come up. I’ve played, I’ve commentated, but I haven’t directly operated. I think I’m humble enough to recognize there will be some baptism by fire, but I’m ready for that. I know I’ve got great resources and partners throughout this organization and I’m fortunate to have mentors across the league. That said, I do understand the weight of a role like this. I’ve lived it. I have confidence in the perspective my years as a player and a team leader give me. This is not a new table; it’s just a new seat.”
Ryan wasn’t the only person Atlanta interviewed for this role, but it was rumored weeks ago that he would join the front office in some capacity to help guide the team in a new direction. Other names that were interviewed for this role were Lions COO Mike Disner, Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham, Panthers EVP Brandt Tilis, and 49ers scouting director Josh Williams. It could be said that this role was specifically crafted for Ryan all along, but Blank had to give respect to other members throughout the league as well for the opportunity.
Now, Ryan will turn his attention to helping find the team’s next general manager and head coach after the departures of both Terry Fontenot and Raheem Morris.
-Follow along with the team’s head coach and GM search with our Falcons interview tracker!
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Atlanta Falcons: Matt Ryan comments on president of football job
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