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.
The Titans would like to speak to one of Robert Saleh’s assistants with the Jets about joining Saleh in Tennessee this season.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that they have requested an interview with Falcons pass game coordinator Mike Rutenberg for their defensive coordinator position.
Rutenberg was the linebackers coach for the Jets during Saleh’s three-plus years as the team’s head coach and he joined the Falcons’ staff along with former Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich last year. Ulbrich will stay with Atlanta under Kevin Stefanski, but Rutenberg could move on to a new role.
Texans defensive backs coach Dino Vasso is also a candidate for the defensive coordinator job in Tennessee.
Arthur Smith is headed to the college level.
According to multiple reports, Smith is finalizing a deal to become Ohio State’s offensive coordinator.
Smith, 42, had received interest from the Cardinals and Titans for their dad coaching vacancies this month. He was also up for at least one offensive coordinator role in the league.
But Smith instead will head to the college level, where he’ll work under head coach Ryan Day. Smith joins another former NFL head coach on staff, as Matt Patricia is the program’s current defensive coordinator.
Smith had spent most of his career with Tennessee before becoming Atlanta’s head coach in 2021. The Falcons went 7-10 in each of Smith’s three seasons.
This is not Smith’s first college coaching job, as he began his career as a graduate assistant for North Carolina before heading to Ole Missin 2010 as a defensive intern/administrative assistant.
The Falcons’ search for a new General Manager is set to take several steps forward on Friday.
Albert Breer of SI.com reports that the team will hold four interviews with candidates for the position. Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham, 49ers director of scouting and football operations Josh Williams, Eagles senior personnel director Joe Douglas, and Chiefs assistant GM Mike Bradway will all be meeting with the team.
Cunningham and Williams interviewed with the team for their president of football job before Matt Ryan was hired earlier this month.
The Falcons interviewed Steelers assistant GM Andy Weidl and Texans assistant GM James Liipfert on Thursday. There have not been any reports of other candidates in the mix, so the team’s hire may be coming soon.
