Jeremy Fowler, Marc Raimondi, Dan Graziano and Matt Miller reported on this story.
ATLANTA – The Atlanta Falcons cleaned house Sunday night despite finishing the season on a four-game winning streak.
The organization has fired head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot. The search to fill both positions will begin immediately and be concurrent, per the franchise.
The Falcons have not made the playoffs nor had a winning record since 2017, and owner Arthur Blank’s patience has clearly worn thin. Fontenot did not put forth a winning team in five years as GM. Morris went 8-9 in both of his seasons. The Falcons had a four-game losing streak in 2024 and a five-game losing streak in 2025.
Meanwhile, the team has still not found a successor as the franchise quarterback for Matt Ryan, who was traded away in 2021.
The Falcons have a good, young core — running back Bijan Robinson, wide receiver Drake London and edge rushers James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker — but the next regime will not have the benefit of a first-round pick in 2026. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is sidelined with a torn ACL and the jury is still out on whether he can be a top-flight QB. He was supposed to be the backup to Kirk Cousins, whom the Falcons signed to a $100 million deal weeks before drafting Penix. But Cousins struggled and got hurt in 2024, necessitating Penix playing at the end of his rookie season, which was sooner than expected.
National NFL reporters Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano, Falcons reporter Marc Raimondi and NFL draft analyst Matt Miller break down the moves from various angles.
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Morris’ offense for Penix, run by Zac Robinson, wasn’t a fit in the eyes of multiple scouts and coaches who felt he needed more of a vertical attack to utilize his arm strength.
How attractive are the positions for future candidates?
Fowler: It’s one of the better jobs available. Robinson and a good offensive line will attract several of the top offensive candidates. And the defense is brimming with young talent. However, the owner is not the most patient, as he’s proving. But the Falcons are in a very winnable division in a national hub with a blank canvas to improve the on-field product in a hurry.
Caleb Williams and build out the roster around the talented young quarterback. Find the coach first, ask him which GM he wants to work with, hire that guy, and watch them cook. Kevin Stefanski? Brian Flores with a solid offensive coordinator? Heck, Mike Tomlin if he becomes available? Get your guy who’s obviously A GUY and let him figure out what your organization needs to be about. There’s no other right way to do it.
How big of a detriment will not having a first-round pick be to GM candidates?
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Miller: Trading the 2026 first-rounder to the Rams to get James Pearce Jr. looks like a smart move, given the rookie edge rusher’s success (his 10.5 sacks are a franchise rookie record) and the lack of top-end talent in this year’s draft class.
The Falcons’ roster is stocked with talent at running back plus a core group on defense that’s impressive, so the lack of a Round 1 pick in a draft class that has just 11 players with a true first-round grade on my board shouldn’t be a deterrent to incoming GM candidates. Sure, the rebuilding job will be a little more complicated without a first-rounder, but the Falcons could address the secondary on Day 2. I like the fit for Texas cornerback Malik Muhammad in Round 2 and Texas Tech defensive lineman Lee Hunter in Round 3.
