The Falcons are operating without a head coach or a General Manager after firing Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot at the end of the season, but they’ve still reportedly worked out a modified contract with quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Field Yates of ESPN.com reports that Cousins has agreed to a reworked deal that moves $32.9 million of his non-guaranteed $35 million salary from 2026 to 2027. They also added a vesting guarantee for the $67.9 million he’s now due in 2027 to March 13 of this year. Cousins still has a guaranteed $10 million roster bonus for 2026 in his current deal.
It’s unlikely that the Falcons or anyone else would pay Cousins that $67.9 million, which means he’d likely work out a new contract with the Falcons or have a deal in place with a team he agrees to be traded to — Cousins has a no-trade clause — at the start of the new league year.
Should neither of those things happen, the Falcons could release Cousins with a post-June 1 designation to spread out the remaining cap hit over the next two years. Lowering Cousins’ salary would allow the Falcons to realize more 2026 cap savings without waiting until June if he does wind up getting released.
More clarity on Cousins’ future in Atlanta should come once the team has hired the new decision-makers in the coming weeks.
Matt Ryan is getting closer to having a new job.
Per Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, Ryan is set to interview with the Falcons later this week — either Thursday or Friday — for their newly created president of football role.
It’s been reported that the former Falcons quarterback was in discussions to join the team’s front office, with Ryan also looking to keep his TV job on CBS.
While it would be an upset if Ryan did not land the job at this point, Atlanta will have to be compliant with the Rooney Rule to officially hire Ryan for the position.
The No. 3 overall pick of the 2008 draft, Ryan played 14 seasons for the Falcons from 2008-2021 before concluding his playing career with the Colts in 2022.
The Falcons requested interviews with a couple of head coaching candidates on Monday and they’re getting the ball rolling on their General Manager search as well.
According to multiple reports, they have requested an interview with Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham.
Cunningham has been a candidate for multiple vacancies around the league in recent years and was considered a finalist for the Commanders’ opening in 2024. He has spent the last four seasons with the Bears and worked for the Eagles and Ravens before joining GM Ryan Poles in Chicago.
Poles played college football at Boston College with Matt Ryan, who is expected to be the new president of football operations in Atlanta. That connection could help Cunningham’s chances of advancing beyond the finalist stage this time around, but there will be more candidates added to the mix before the Falcons are in position to hire anyone.
Blame it on Tom Brady.
Actually, blame it on Fox and the NFL for allowing Tom Brady to wear two hats that shouldn’t fit on one head.
With neither Fox or the NFL willing to say “no” to Brady’s dual role as lead NFL game analyst and a minority Raiders owners, others are going to try to double dip.
Last week, it was ESPN’s Troy Aikman, whose side hustle as a consultant for the Dolphins drew barely a holiday-week shrug. Now, CBS’s Matt Ryan reportedly hopes to keep his seat at the Sunday pregame desk while serving as the Falcons’ eventual president of football operations.
If Brady can do it, why can’t Aikman? If Aikman can’t do it, why can’t Ryan?
While folks seem to be noticing — and criticizing — the undeniable conflict of interest more fervently than they did a year ago, when many were acting like it was no big deal for Brady and a few were straining to play the “whatabout” game as to those who dared to point out the obvious conflict between the two functions, it’s too late to do anything about it.
Fox didn’t say no to Brady. ESPN didn’t say no to Aikman. CBS might not say no to Ryan.
So do your thing. Get paid. Ignore the ethical dilemma. Do what you want. When you want. How you want.
The question isn’t whether it will end. The question is which broadcaster will do it next?
Maybe I should quit talking about it and start looking for a way to do it myself.
The Titans noted they would be casting a wide net in their search for their next head coach.
Their list will include a coach who was just manning the sideline for another club.
According to Peter Schrager of ESPN, Tennessee will interview former Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris for its head coaching vacancy later this week.
Morris, 49, spent the last two seasons as Atlanta’s head coach, going 8-9 in each season. He previously served as the Falcons’ interim coach in 2020, going 4-7. He was also the Buccaneers head coach from 2009-2011, accumulating a 17-31 record in that span.
Morris was the Rams defensive coordinator from 2021-2023, winning Super bowl LVI with the club.
If Morris’ interview is in person, it would fill one of the two required interviews with minority candidates to satisfy the Rooney Rule.
