ATLANTA — Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank wrote a letter to the fans addressing multiple changes within the organization for the 2026 season and beyond on Monday.
"We owe it to them to step up and make the right decisions on their behalf," Blank said. "I always view the fans as sitting on my shoulders — all of them — and looking at the decisions that I'm involved in and any thoughts that I'm sharing.
"What are the views of the fans? Doesn't mean they drive the franchise, but means they're obviously the reason — one of the major reasons — we're here."
Those words were spoken Thursday at the Arthur M. Blank Family Office when Blank addressed the media for the first time since the organizational changes went public. He spoke for about a half-hour.
Below are the five biggest takeaways from his press conference.
Falcons will hire their president of football first
The Falcons need to hire three positions: president of football, general manager and head coach. Each will play a vital role in positioning the team for on-field success in the future.
Blank is prioritizing interviews for the president of football. Those will start Thursday and continue at least into Friday. Interviews for general manager and head coach will begin after that vacancy is filled.
"We're hiring this president of football first," Blank said. "That's the goal. Over the next couple of days, we have a series of interviews set up. We want to get that person in their seat and have them lead the interviews for the head coach and general manager position going forward."
Blank clarified the title is president of football — not president of football operations.
"Sometimes people could interpret that as being: Well, they're responsible for the operation stuff, the backroom stuff, the administrative stuff," Blank said. "But this person we're trying to hire will be responsible for everything that relates to football on the grass. Both the general manager and head coach will report directly to that person, who will report to me."
Getting to another level
The first wave of changes occurred after the Falcons defeated the New Orleans Saints in their Week 18 regular-season finale. Atlanta capped off its 2025 season with a four-game win streak and an 8-9 record that tied for first in the NFC South.
"At the end of the day, I didn't think we achieved the level that we're capable of," Blank said "The expression that I often use is: Good is the enemy of great. I think we're capable of getting to another level. So, that was the reason we made the decisions."
The Falcons were eliminated from the playoffs after their Week 14 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The Carolina Panthers ultimately won the division due to tiebreakers. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were second over the Falcons for the same reason.
Atlanta last made the playoffs in 2017.
"I felt that given the quality of the young players that we have on offense and defense, and some seasoned veterans that are excellent as well, that we needed to move forward both in terms of the changes to head coach and general manager," Blank said. "Very tough decisions. It's a performance-driven league. All sports are. Certainly, the NFL is no different that."
Falcons will interview Matt Ryan for president of football role
Former Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan's name has repeatedly come up in reports since Blank announced his organizational changes.
Blank confirmed Ryan will receive an interview for the Falcons' president of football position.
The Falcons drafted Ryan with the No. 3 overall pick in 2008. He led the Falcons to their first back-to-back winning seasons, six playoff appearances and a Super Bowl run in 2016. He racked up numerous accolades throughout his time in Atlanta, including the first and only MVP trophy in franchise history. Ryan was inducted to the Ring of Honor in 2024, alongside Blank, no less.
"He ended up leading a locker room of 53 for 14 years, leading in a huddle, being a great player, leading the players, supporting coaches, etc.," Blank said. "His EQ and IQ when it comes to football extraordinarily high. I've known Matt personally since 2008. His family. He's an outstanding individual, great community leader and kind of person you'd certainly want to consider in that position.
"But we have other candidates that we're interviewing as well over the next couple of days."
Michael Penix Jr.'s surgery was successful
Speaking of quarterbacks, Blank provided an update on Michael Penix Jr. and Kirk Cousins, both of whom started in 2025 for the Falcons.
Penix received the nod at the start of the season and went 3-6 at the helm. He sustained a season-ending knee injury in the Falcons' Week 11 overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers and had to undergo surgery for a partially torn ACL. Cousins started the other eight games, including the final seven, and went 5-3.
"We look forward to having Michael back," Blank said. "He's had a good surgery. We spoke to the medical staff, and it seems to have gone well.
"Kirk, we will see what will happen with him going forward."
The Falcons reportedly restructured Cousins’ contract earlier this week.
Blank emphasized that he believes Penix is the Falcons' franchise quarterback.
Penix's surgery was in late November. The standard recovery timeline for his injury is at least nine months.
"The surgeon felt 1,000% secure in the medical procedure they went through, and they really felt his knee was going to be even better than it was before," Blank said. "He's on a successful rehab program. He's back in Atlanta. He's committed mentally. Physically, he feels good."
A recommendation for Jeff Ulbrich
Despite the overall outcome, one highlight from the Falcons' 2025 season was the defense. The unit set a single-season franchise record in sacks with 57. That total ranked second in the NFL, completely flipping the script from 2024 when Atlanta was second to last with 31 sacks.
The Falcons' defense was revamped within just one season under defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich's command.
"Jeff Ulbrich, in my view, he did a really fine job for us this year," Blank said. "Certainly look at the record of sacks. And just the overall performance of defense was definitely better than it's been in the past."
That does not guarantee Ulbrich remains in Atlanta this year, though.
"You can't dictate to a new head coach who their coaches are going to be, but I certainly would recommend to a new head coach that they consider Jeff, based on his track record," Blank said. "Not only here, but his track record before with us in Atlanta, and then he went to New York, and his experience there for certainly a couple of years was at the very top of the league, too.
"So, I would certainly recommend somebody consider, but it's not something we could require or mandate. The right head coach is going to want to put together their own staff."
