ATLANTA — For the third time this month, the Atlanta Falcons hosted a rather important press conference where at least one offseason change was addressed.
Owner Arthur Blank held court on Jan. 7 to discuss initial interview plans for president of football, head coach and general manager. On Jan. 13, Matt Ryan had his introduction as president of football. And now, on Tuesday, Kevin Stefanski had his moment as head coach.
"With Kevin, we land a head coach who's accomplished a lot, a two-time NFL coach of the year," Ryan said. "We also get someone who's hungry, highly motivated, resilient, with a lot to prove. We're so excited to welcome Kevin Stefanski as the Atlanta Falcons' head coach."
Why it matters: Stefanski is the Falcons’ 20th head coach. He comes to Atlanta after six seasons in the same position with the Cleveland Browns. While there, the Browns went to the playoffs twice — in 2020 and 2023. After both of those seasons, Stefanski won The Associated Press' Coach of the Year award. He has been coaching in some capacity since 2006.
- What he said: "Atlanta is where I wanted to be. I wanted to be here. There was a pull to this job and pull to this city."
Background: The Falcons finished the 2025 season with an 8-9 record and did not make the playoffs for the eighth consecutive year. As a result, Blank made a series of internal changes to the organizational structure.
Key takeaways
1. Who will call plays for the offense?
Stefanski has decided offensive coordinator Tommy Rees will be the Falcons' play-caller.
Atlanta hired Rees last Thursday. He and Stefanski maintained these same roles with the Browns in 2025 and have worked together overall since 2024. Rees first joined Stefanski's staff in Cleveland as the pass game specialist and tight ends coach.
"That's a setup that I'm very, very comfortable with," Stefanski said. "I think he's an outstanding football coach. He's young, but I don't know if you always measure experience just in years. I think he's had unbelievable experiences in his young career. He's somebody that I trust. We see the game similarly, but we also push each other because we're different."
This will be the first time Rees has called plays in the NFL.
During the head coach interviews, Ryan asked all candidates about their vision for building a staff. So, he knew Stefanski wanted Rees and did his research on both during the decision process.
"We did a lot of reference work on Tommy and feel like much like Kevin: very strong about him as a young coach and what he can do," Stefanski said. "(We) agree that he's inexperienced when it comes to play-calling in the NFL, but he's very experienced at calling plays."
Rees was the University of Alabama offensive coordinator in 2023, when the Crimson Tide won the SEC championship and made the College Football Playoff semifinals. He was the University of Notre Dame offensive coordinator from 2020-22.
2. Why did Stefanski retain Jeff Ulbrich?
Rees and special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman are new to Atlanta. Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich is not. His retaining was announced last Monday.
Blank made it clear weeks ago he would not require the head coach to keep Ulbrich but "certainly would recommend" it.
Stefanski was quickly convinced on his own. Ulbrich was his first staff announcement. It came only two days after Stefanski's own.
"There was a very easy conversation with coach and I about how we saw this game of football and how demanding we are of our players," Stefanski said. "Then, just watching the tape and some of the things he was able to do this season with some of our young players, it was really exciting. So, early on, it was obvious to me — and I think it was obvious to him — we really hit it off and are cut from the same cloth, if you will, from a football perspective."
Ulbrich rejoined the Falcons last offseason as defensive coordinator. He helped the unit go from second-to-last in sacks in 2024 to second overall in 2025. Atlanta achieved a franchise record of 57 sacks last season.
Atlanta Falcons Head Coach Kevin Stefanski arrives in Atlanta and gets a tour of the Atlanta Falcons training facility from President of Football Matt Ryan.
3. What's the plan for quarterback?
The Falcons enter yet another offseason with a question mark at the quarterback position.
Michael Penix Jr. sustained a season-ending knee injury in Week 11 of last year and had to undergo surgery for a partially torn ACL. His return timeline is unknown.
Kirk Cousin, meanwhile, closed out last season as the starting quarterback and led the team to its 4-0 finish. However, the Falcons reportedly restructured Cousins’ contract where it now has a financial deadline of sorts come March 13. His future is therefore also unknown.
"Obviously, Michael is someone I'm very excited about," Stefanski said. "His rehab is what's most important right now. I saw him in the training room this week. He's, as you can imagine, attacking his rehab.
"Then, when it comes to Kirk, I obviously have a previous relationship with Kirk. But I don't know if it's the time yet to talk about all positions and those types of things. Those types of conversations will come in due time."
Stefanski was in his second season as the Minnesota Vikings' quarterbacks coach when Cousins signed with the team as a free agent in 2018. Then, Stefanski was Cousins' offensive coordinator in 2019. During the latter year, the Vikings made the playoffs and Cousins was a Pro Bowl pick.
If Cousins stays in Atlanta, he'll be entering Year 3 of a four-year deal.
4. How does Stefanski evaluate the roster?
Stefanski kept a similar tone toward the overall roster as he did with quarterback.
Without a general manager in place, roster conversations are essentially on pause. That became clear when Stefanski was asked specifically about tight end Kyle Pitts Sr., who is set to become a free agent on March 11 when the new league year begins.
"Kyle is somebody that we'll talk at length more about when it comes to those types of roster conversations," Stefanski said. "But the position itself is something that we feel very strongly about."
Stefanski did give his overall impressions of the roster, though, from when he did his pre-interview homework.
"I think there's really good young players at some key positions," Stefanski said. "I think there's some veterans that have played excellent football over the course of their career. Bijan (Robinson) comes to mind as a good young player that I can't wait to work with. But if you look up and down the roster, there are players that I'm excited to coach and get the best version of.
"There are no perfect rosters in the NFL. Just doesn't exist. There's always things that you want to improve or change, if you well. So, certainly, we'll go through the player acquisition period and there will be some new faces and those types of things."
5. Where do things stand with general manager search?
The one front-office position that remains to filled is general manager.
As of Tuesday, the Falcons have completed six interviews with James Liipfert, Andy Weidl, Ian Cunningham, Josh Williams, Mike Bradway and Joe Douglas. The first was conducted last Thursday, the latest was last Friday.
Originally, the Falcons hoped to hire the head coach and general manager around the same time. Because there were 10 teams total looking for a head coach, though, that was prioritized to ensure the Falcons got who they wanted. Whereas for general manager, Atlanta is the only club in need.
"I think it made most sense for us to kind of compartmentalize the two," Ryan said. "I feel like we're in a really good space in terms of where we're at in the GM search. I feel like our process has been really good. I think we've made really strong progress and still feel like we're in a space and a timeframe where we can accomplish everything we need to accomplish given the league calendar."
The earliest date that would concern a general manager is Feb. 17, when teams are allowed to designate players to receive a franchise or transition tag. That deadline is March 3, though, so there's still a little wiggle room there.
The 2026 NFL Combine is then next, running from Feb. 23-March 2.
"We've got some in-person interviews coming up in the near future," Ryan said.
Additional notes:
- Ryan's president of football title is new to the Falcons. With that, there are bound to be unknowns with it. Stefanski was not concerned: "That's a big part of why I wanted to come here — to work with Matt."
- Stefanski was simply asked: What are your thoughts on running back Bijan Robinson? He said: "He's good." That drew a laugh. Stefanski continued as follows: "He's a special person, I'd start there. This is special person that everybody told me about. But then I got to see for myself what type of person he is."
- The Falcons haven't made the playoffs since 2017. Here's Stefanski's response to that reminder: "I'm not so concerned about the past when I take this job. I am so focused on the future, and I am forward looking. I got the blinders on for 2026 and beyond."
Most quotable moment: "I know full well how important that rivalry is with us and the Saints. Obviously, Kellen Moore is a good friend of mine. That's a part of this business. When you've been doing this for this long, you're going up against a lot of your friends in this business. You can be friends with them for 363 days of the year. For those other two days, you're competing like crazy." — Stefanski on whether he knows who the Falcons' biggest rival is.
What's next: As already mentioned, the Falcons will continue their search for a general manager. Follow the official interview tracker for all updates.
Join us as we take a look back on our favorite photos from gameday during the Atlanta Falcons' 2025-2026 season.
