The Atlanta Falcons finished their 2025 NFL season with an 8-9 record, extending their playoff drought to eight seasons. Despite closing the year on a four-game winning streak, capped off with a victory over the New Orleans Saints, the Falcons were edged out in the NFC South tiebreaker by a tiebreaker the Carolina Panthers held over them.
The season featured a late playoff push and standout performances from running back Bijan Robinson, who ranked fourth in the NFL in rushing yards, and tight end Kyle Pitts Sr., who set career highs in both receptions and touchdowns. Additionally, Robinson set the Falcons’ single-season record for yards from scrimmage with 2,298 yards. However, the Falcons experienced setbacks due to quarterback inconsistency, with backup Kirk Cousins having to step in for the injured Michael Penix Jr. starting in Week 11.
Just hours after their win over the Saints, the Falcons fired head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot. The Falcons let Morris go after just two seasons, while Fontenot spent five seasons with the team. Despite assembling promising offensive and defensive talent, the front office has yet to turn the Falcons into a consistent winning franchise.
After firing the past regime, the Falcons hired franchise legend and former quarterback Matt Ryan as the team’s president of football. In this newly created role, he will oversee the head coach and general manager roles and evaluate candidates for each position. Since retiring, Ryan had been working as an NFL analyst for CBS Sports, leaving the role to rejoin the Falcons.
Ryan, a four-time Pro Bowler and one-time MVP, is arguably the greatest player in Falcons history and a potential Hall of Famer. He led the Falcons to five playoff appearances, including a trip to the Super Bowl in 2017, and holds franchise records with 59,745 career passing yards and 347 career touchdowns.
On Jan. 17, with Ryan at the helm, the Falcons hired former Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski as their new head coach. The Browns fired Stefanski on Jan. 5 following a disappointing 5-12 record in the 2025 season. During his tenure, Stefanski earned NFL Coach of the Year honors in 2020 and 2023, breaking the Browns' 17-year playoff drought in 2020. Despite the Browns’ recent struggles, he quickly emerged as one of the most popular candidates on the coaching market.
The Falcons hope Stefanski can improve their offense, which ranked near the bottom of the league in scoring in 2025. While Cleveland’s offense struggled late in his tenure, much of that was due to ongoing quarterback dysfunction rather than coaching.
In Atlanta, Stefanski will be heading into a more stable, yet still uncertain, quarterback situation, with Penix Jr. entering his third season coming off an ACL injury. While Cousins steadied the offense to keep the Falcons in the division race, the starting quarterback remains undecided. The new coaching staff will evaluate Penix Jr.’s recovery and weigh their quarterback options before determining who will open the 2026 season as the starter.
As the Falcons enter a pivotal offseason, the combination of young talent, leadership change and Ryan’s return to the franchise signals a reset in Atlanta. With Stefanski now in place, the focus shifts to whether he can translate the Falcons’ potential into sustained success and end their long playoff drought.
