Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons

New general manager Ian Cunningham is stepping into a less-than-ideal situation in Atlanta. On one hand, he has some terrific pieces on both sides of the ball, a reasonable amount of cap space, and a fanbase that knows that 2026 is not a year where we're going to place outsized expectations after eight straight losing seasons. On the other hand, it's a roster with a ton of holes, some very expensive commitments, and a thorny quarterback situation.

The 40-year-old has a connection to Ryan in Bears GM Ryan Poles, who was one of Ryan's teammates at Boston College. Cunningham, formerly with the Ravens and Eagles, has worked under Poles in Chicago since 2022. He has interviewed elsewhere for several promotions since then, including the Commanders' president of football operations gig in January 2024. Cunningham was a finalist for that opening, but the Commanders hired Adam Peters instead.

Ulbrich, his staff, and Atlanta's roster conspired to set the franchise record for sacks in a single season, improved in almost every defensive category you can think of, and had a rare streak of sub-200 yard passing games last season.

He was a hot name in NFL circles after coaching Joe Burrow at LSU, and was eventually hired as the offensive coordinator for the Panthers. His 2020 and 2021 seasons featured underwhelming production-not that it stopped the Falcons and others from interviewing him for head coaching vacancies in 2021-before Carolina fired him in early December 2021. He was hired as Buffalo's quarterbacks coach in 2022 and took over for fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey in 2023.

Harbaugh, 63, ranks 12th for most wins by a head coach in NFL history with 193 and guided the Ravens to a Super Bowl title in 2012. He was named the NFL's Coach of the Year in 2019. In leading the Ravens for 18 seasons, he was the second-longest active coach in the league behind Mike Tomlin, who is in his 19th season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Falcons began their search for a new "president of football" alongside their search for a new head coach and general manager, with interviews already underway. Kevin Knight breaks down the top candidates for each position, along with potential timelines for the hires at all three spots. Also some offseason talk, including the adjustment to Kirk Cousins contract and what it means for Atlanta's QB room in 2026. Fellow Falcoholics, welcome to another episode of The Falcoholic Live!

Pearce has been under a microscope since April, with the initial reaction to the trade that brought him in being that the former Tennessee standout wasn't worth the price. Pearce responded by leading all rookies in sacks with 10.5 and became the first rookie since Micah Parsons to crack double digits. Pearce was also one of 15 players in the entire league to cross that mark.

The Falcons feel like they have candidates pretty well locked in for their president of football and general manager openings, given that Matt Ryan is the widely reported favorite for the former and Ian Cunningham is the sole candidate set to be interviewed for the latter. Head coach feels a bit more wide open, and the Falcons just added an intriguing candidate to the mix.

The Falcons have another candidate for their newly-created president of football operations role: Panthers executive vice president of football operations Brandt Tilis. Tilis is set to interview for the role, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, though ex-Falcons quarterback appears to be a frontrunner for the position. Atlanta is nonetheless obligated to interview other candidates, who may also emerge as figures in their search for a new general manager.

Apparently, I needn't have worried that the Falcons were going to let the last few weeks of the season influence whether they kept Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot. Per NFL insiders Ollie Connolly and Josina Anderson, who in my experience has been pretty accurate in their reporting, Atlanta has "had feelers" out to potential candidates for weeks now and were going to fire both Morris and Fontenot regardless of the season's end result.

It wasn't pretty, but Falcons-Saints rarely is. It wasn't exactly a testament to this team's strength of roster or coaching, but it wasn't expected to be. What it ultimately was a win, a 2025 sweep of the Saints, and a second-straight 8-9 season locked up. The Falcons struggled offensively much of the day, which meant the defense had to step up and did. Atlanta held the Saints to 17 points-including a last minute touchdown-and the offense set up enough Zane Gonzalez field goals to win.

This has been one of the most frustrating Atlanta Falcons seasons in recent memory. Not because the lows were shocking, but because the highs kept pulling you back in. It feels like a long road to get here, full of false starts, brief surges of hope, and the familiar realization that this team was never quite ready to take control of its own story.

The Falcons sprinted out to a 21-0 halftime lead over the Rams only to blow it in the second half, before ultimately winning on a late field goal 27-24. Despite the win, the same old errors and sloppy play continued to appear throughout the night, making the game an excellent microcosm of Atlanta's 2025 issues. Kevin Knight and Allen Strk break it all down. Fellow Falcoholics, welcome to another episode of The Falcoholic Live!

I just constantly remind guys, just have fun. As stressful as football is, as much as it hurts the body, it's the most fun you're going to have in this life, I guarantee it. That's the message [Canales] constantly preaches. It's all about us. It's always going to be about us, and that's not going to change. And here we are in Week 18 ... the moment of it's all about us.

While last week's win over Tampa Bay was not Bryant's first action of the season, it was his most extensive action to date. He was forced to fill in for injured starting cornerback Mike Hughes, who has already been ruled out against the Cardinals. Stepping into the role as a starter, Bryant was repeatedly targeted by Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield.

The Falcons trailed 28-14, committed a franchise record 19 penalties, and...defeated the Buccaneers 29-28 as time expired. Kevin Knight and Tre'Shon Diaz break down one of the strangest and most unlikely victories in Falcons history, discuss why this result doesn't change anything for Raheem Morris and Co., and enjoy some phenomenal performances from Kyle Pitts, Bijan Robinson, Kirk Cousins, and James Pearce Jr. Fellow Falcoholics, welcome to another episode of The Falcoholic Live!

Was the performance lackluster? For sure. Is this yet another low point in a season full of them? Absolutely. Will we continue to watch this slop? That's up to you. The Benz looked quite empty, and after this performance, I don't see anyone rushing to see this team on a short week against Tampa Bay.

This Atlanta Falcons team had everything to play for-a small chance to climb the ladder in the NFC South, pride, their coaching staff, one another, and even not handing a top ten pick to the Rams in 2026-and they simply weren't good enough to beat a Jets team that entered the day at 2-9. The list of failures was long, but what's most remarkable is how many times the Falcons could have simply won this one outright against a Jets team