Falcons quarterback Michael Penix hasn’t done much to prove he’s a franchise quarterback since arriving in Atlanta as the eighth overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. But new Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski says he’s optimistic about what Penix can do.
Penix is rehabbing a torn ACL, and Stefanski said that’s the primary focus right now.
“Michael is somebody I’m very excited about, and his rehab is what’s most important right now. I saw him in the training room this week. He’s, as you can imagine, attacking his rehab,” Stefanski said, via Terrin Waack of the Falcons.
So what will the Falcons get from Penix once he’s cleared to return?
“I think you see a player on tape that can get through progressions, can layer the ball, can push the ball to all areas of the field,” Stefanski said. “Obviously, he was very productive in college, has had some really, really, really good moments here in the pros, so I just see a young player that will continue to develop and continue to get there.”
The Falcons also have Kirk Cousins on the roster at the moment, but they’re expected to cut him soon. Stefanski served as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator of the Vikings in Cousins’ first two seasons in Minnesota but was noncommittal on whether there’s a chance that Cousins could be in Atlanta this year.
“When it comes to Kirk, obviously have a previous relationship with Kirk. But I don’t know if it’s the time yet to talk about all the position and those types of things. Those types of conversations will come in due time,” Stefanski said.
The Ravens have made a key addition for one of their offensive assistants under first-year coach Jesse Minter.
Per Adam Schefter of ESPN, Baltimore is set to hire former Atlanta run game coordinator/offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford for the same job and title.
Ledford, 49, had served as the Falcons line coach since 2021, adding run game coordinator to his title when Raheem Morris became head coach in 2024.
Ledford spent time with several franchises as a player, appearing in nine games for San Francisco from 2000-2003.
Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski has filled a few more spots on his coaching staff.
The team announced that they have hired Robert Prince as their wide receivers coach. Prince held the same job for the Dolphins in 2025 and he interviewed for the Giants’ offensive coordinator job last week, but Monday’s news suggests he’s not in the running for that position.
The Falcons also announced that they are retaining secondary coach Justin Hood, defensive line coach Nate Ollie, and tight ends coach Kevin Koger from Raheem Morris’s 2025 coaching staff.
In addition to those moves, Stefanski has tabbed his Cleveland colleague Bob Quinn as a senior advisor. Quinn was a senior personnel and coaching executive with the Browns for the last five seasons.
The Falcons have hired a special teams coordinator.
Atlanta announced on Monday that Craig Aukerman has joined the franchise in the role.
Auckerman, 49, held the same role with the Dolphins in 2025. He was Tennessee’s special teams coordinator from 2018-2023 after working as the club’s assistant special teams coach in 2017.
Before that, he was the Chargers’ special teams coordinator in 2016.
The Falcons have now retained Jeff Ulbrich as defensive coordinator and added Tommy Rees as offensive coordinator for head coach Kevin Stefanski’s first staff with the club.
The Bills are casting a wide net when it comes to searching for their next head coach. But not wide enough to encompass the man who won six Super Bowls with a division rival.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the Bills are not interested in Bill Belichick.
At one level, it’s surprising. If the Bills are going to interview someone like Philip Rivers for the job, why not kick the tires on the Tar Heels head coach? At a not-much-deeper level, Belichick has morphed from GOAT in a good way to goat in the usual sense.
He’s currently regarded as radioactive by most NFL teams looking for coaches. And he has only himself to blame, thanks to the bizarre distractions he created in North Carolina over the past year and his open hostility toward his long-time employer in New England. Any NFL owner who would be inclined to hire Belichick would have to assume that, eventually, some of that same venom will be directed to his next former team.
Before it even gets to that, the current employees of the football operation would have to worry about Belichick showing up and taking over, firing long-time employees and bringing in his own people (like Lombo). That’s what apparently derailed Belichick’s candidacy with the Falcons in 2024, after he was fired by the Patriots.
And so here we are. Three full hiring cycles. One interview for Bill Belichick. And no indication that he’ll ever have another chance to chase Don Shula — or to fend off Andy Reid — on the all-time wins list.
