Blank seeks coach, GM duo with same views

‘ We are looking at some really good candidates, again,’ team owner says.

After four interviews have been conducted, Falcons owner Arthur Blank shared his views on what he’s looking for during the team’s general manager and head coach searches.

“It’s critical,” Blank said Monday, a day after the team fifinished the 2020 season with a 4- 12 record. “You’re not going to fifind anyone in the NFL, I think, or in most businesses for that matter, ( who) would say that the general manager and head coach could be on difffffffffffferent pages.”

The Falcons are s eeking t o replace former head coach Dan Quinn and former general manager Thomas Dimitroffffffffffff, who were fired on Oct. 11. President and CEO Rich Mckay has been running the football operation and Raheem Morris served as interim head coach over the fifinal 11 games.

The Falcons recently i nterviewed former Houston Texans ge nera l manager Ri c k S mit h and Falcons director of scouting Anthony Robinson for the general manager position. Morris, who was 4- 7 as the interim coach, was interviewed Friday and Kansas City offffffffffffensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was interviewed Monday for the vacant head coaching position.

“We are looking at some really good candidates, again, we’re fortunate,” Blank said. “Both coaching- wise and GM- wise, we have a very diverse set to look at. Which is a real blessing giving the emphasis that our league and our franchise has in terms of diversity.”

The Falcons are l ooking t o match a general manager and coach with the same view of the game.

“It’s OK to have difffffffffffferent opinions about a variety of things,” Blank said. “That they listen to each other, respectfully. That they become good listeners, etcetera.

But whatever they do, they need to do it with collaboration with each other. There needs to be great respect with each other. Great respect not only for each other, but with their staff, personnel and coaching to personnel.”

The Falcons had a traditional approach when Dimitroff was hired in 2008. After coach Mike Smith was terminated in 2014, the Falcons moved to a co- team builder approach with Dimitroff in control of the 90- man roster and Quinn in control of the 53- man roster.

Blank felt that the Smith coaching staff didn’t work well with the scouting department, which had whiffed on drafting some offensive lineman. They drafted a slew of linebackers in 2014 and most of them were cut.

Blank wants the new coach and general manger to listen and understand one another. After going to the Super Bowl LI, the Falcons were in steady descent under the Quinn- Dimitroff team. They went to the playoffs the following season before posting records of 7- 9, 7- 9 and 0- 5 before getting fired.

“We’ve made some mistakes in the draft, which hurt us in my opinion ,” Blank said. “We probably made some mistakes in free agency, which is always very dangerous for us to tread it . You can pick up some very good players, but you’re always exposed to some other team’s issues, or players’ issues that we probably may not have fully ( understood). But, I think we are where we are.”

Mckay will let the new general manager and head coach evaluate the current roster. “We want to win in 2021,” Mckay said. “We don’t want to make any sacrifices that then hurt the franchise for the future.”

Other teams are still using the traditional model, where the general manager is the final decision-maker and coaches worry about coaching.

“They have to see the game the same way,” Blank said. “They have to have a similar plan for how do you build a championship team. ... Who do you pick and who you don’t pick. In free agency, who do you pick or who you don’t pick, who you chase or don’t chase.

“It’s very important that they speak the same language, but not always in agreement. There is always room for disagreement. That’s a healthy thing to have in an organization.”

The Falcons believe their process is more important than who wields the power.

“If somebody has to use their quote ‘ power’ to make those decisions, the dynamic is not a very good one,” Blank said. “It’s not a very healthy one.”

The Falcons have interviews set up this week and through next week. Smith and Dimitroff were hired in the last week of January during Senior Bowl week. Quinn was hired t he day after Seattle competed i n the Super Bowl in February.

Some candidates, whose teams are in the playoffs and don’t have a bye this week, are not eligible for in- person interviews, per league rules.

Falcons add players

The Falcons signed 11 players to reserve/ futures contracts Monday: CB Delrick Abrams ( Colorado), offensive lineman Willie Beavers ( Western Michigan), QB Kurt Benkert ( Virginia), RB Tony Brooks- James ( Oregon), WR Greg Dortch ( Wake Forest), kicker Elliott Fry ( South Carolina), DB T. J. Green ( Clemson), DT Chris Slayton ( Syracuse), DB Chris Williamson ( Minnesota) and offensive lineman Willie Wright ( Tulsa).

By signing f utures contracts, the players will be on the Falcons’ roster at the beginning of the new league year in March.