FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons have named Bill Callahan as their new offensive line coach. This is head coach Kevin Stefanski's second official hire for his coaching staff, as Jeff Ulbrich was retained as defensive coordinator Monday.
Callahan comes to the Falcons with a coaching resume that spans four decades through the college and professional ranks. After more than a decade coaching in college, Callahan joined the league in 1995 as the offensive line coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. From there, he spent time with the then-Oakland Raiders and worked his way up from offensive line coach to offensive coordinator to head coach by 2002.
In his first season as head coach, Callahan led the Raiders to a third consecutive AFC West title as well as the franchise's very first Super Bowl appearance since returning to Oakland. Callahan was just the fourth first-year head coach in NFL history to do so.
Callahan returned to the college level in 2004 to be the head coach at Nebraska. In 2006, he led the team to a Big 12 North championship, the program's first since 1999.
Callahan made the jump back to the pros in 2008 as assistant head coach and offensive line coach with the New York Jets, a role he held until 2011. In his first year, Callahan established the Jets as one of the premier offensive lines in the league with three players — Nick Mangold, Alan Faneca and D'Brickashaw Ferguson — given Pro Bowl nods that year. In 2009, Callahan's second year with the team, the Jets broke the franchise record for rushing yards in a single season, gaining 2,756 yards on the ground through 16 games. They led the league in both total rushing yards and average yards per attempt, and Mangold, Faneca and Ferguson all made a second-straight Pro Bowl trip. For his efforts leading the group, Callahan was named Assistant Coach of the Year by Peter King in 2009.
He was the offensive line coach and offensive coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys from 2012-14. Again, helping three offensive linemen — Tyron Smith, Zack Martin and Travis Frederick — accumulate accolades. All three were named All-Pros in 2014. Callahan is largely credited with establishing the Cowboys' dominant offensive line.
Similar to his time a decade before with the Raiders, Callahan's next stop involved continued upward mobility. He joined the then-Washington Redskins in 2015 as the offensive line coach, became assistant head coach in 2017 and eventually interim head coach after five games of the 2019 season.
When Stefanski created his Cleveland Browns staff in 2020, Callahan joined as offensive line coach. He quickly became a very important cog in the wheel and someone Stefanski leaned on.
"I have seen Coach Callahan on his hands and knees getting guys into three-point stances how he wants it," Stefanski said about Callahan in 2021. "Coach Callahan has a way about him. That is how he has been coaching for years. I have heard the stories going way back to his college days. He coaches them hard, and he is fair. I think the guys respect that. He is a huge resource to me with him being a former head coach, and he has seen so much. I just think the guy is outstanding."
In his first year with the Browns, the unit had the best pass protection in the league, according to ESPN. Cleveland also ranked third in rushing yards per game in 2020, averaging nearly 150 yards on the ground. In Callahan's first three seasons, Cleveland finished no worse than sixth in rushing offense. By the end of 2023, they were still ranking in the top quartile of the league's offensive lines. PFF ranked the unit No. 4 overall despite injuries suffered by the group that season.
Callahan's son, Brian, was named the head coach of the Tennessee Titans in 2024 and hired his father to join him as the team's offensive line coach.
"Bill Callahan — a very unique situation there to go work for Brian, not with Brian," Stefanski said in 2024. He's going to work for Brian. I can't wait for Brian to boss him around. The dream of every kid is to boss their parents around. Happy for those guys.
"Organizationally, we realize that's a unique situation and did not want to stand in the way of that. Excited, certainly, for Brian and Bill down there."
Things didn't ultimately work out for the younger Callahan, as the Titans released him from his duties in October 2025. This opened the door for the older Callahan to reunite with Stefanski in Atlanta, where he will coach a high-caliber offensive line that includes All-Pro Chris Lindstrom, current league Ironman Jake Matthews and up-and-comer Matthew Bergeron. The unit could also see the return of Kaleb McGary in 2026 after he missed all of 2025 with injury.
Callahan has worked with top-tier offensive lines before. This Atlanta one should be another notch in his already illustrious belt.
