FLOWERY BRANCH -- The Falcons, who are looking to replace head coach Mike Smith, are set to interview Denver offensive coordinator Adam Gase on Friday, according to NFL Media.
"Broncos OC Adam Gase will interview with the 49ers (Friday), Falcons (Friday) and Bears (Saturday) this week," tweeted Mike Silver of NFL Media.
Smith, the wininngest coach in team history with 66 wins over seven seasons, was fired on Monday. He was 10-22 over the past two seasons.
Gase, 36, is considered one of the top offensive coaches in the NFL. He was a quarterbacks coach under former Denver coach Josh McDaniel, but was retained by new coach John Fox, who then promoted him to offensive coordinator. The biggest question: Is he ready for this jump?
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
The Falcons are also set to interview former New York Jets coach Rex Ryan next week according to the New York Daily News.
Ryan interviewed with the Falcons after the 2007 season, but lost out to Smith. His bombastic style might not be a good fit for the franchise's collaborative culture.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank said the team wanted to be secretive about the process and team officials are not commenting about their search.
The search-firm Korn Ferry, which only takes one NFL team a season as a client, has been retained to help with the search.
Korn Ferry helped with the hiring of Houston Texans coach Bill O’Brien and Kansas City’s hiring of Andy Reid.
In addition to Gase and Ryan, the Falcons have sought permission to interview Detroit defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, Arizona defensive coordinator Todd Bowles, Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
Ryan posted a 46-50 record in New York over six seasons. He lead the Jets to two AFC championship games.
Ryan is the son of legendary NFL coach Buddy Ryan and is not related to Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan.
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