15 pressing football questions for Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski
After six tumultuous seasons as the head coach of the Cleveland Browns, Kevin Stefanski was named the 20th head coach of the Falcons on Jan. 17.
The Philadelphia native and former longtime assistant with the Minnesota Vikings is set to be formally introduced by the team in a news conference at noon Tuesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Here are 15 pressing football questions for the new coach, who went to the playoffs twice (2020 and 2023), won coach of the year twice (2020 and 2023) and posted an overall record of 45-56 with the Browns:
1. How do you view the current quarterback situation? Kirk Cousins finished out last season as the starting quarterback after Michael Penix Jr. suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Cousins had one of his best seasons when he worked with Stefanski as his offensive coordinator with the Vikings in 2019. If the team releases Cousins with a post-June 1 designation, they would still need a veteran to start if Penix isn’t fully recovered from his surgery, which took place Nov. 25.
2. Do you want Cousins back? The Falcons recently restructured Cousins’ contract. He has stated that he wants to look for a starting quarterback situation.
Would the Falcons now like him to stay, and would he be the new coach’s preferred starter over Penix?
3. What’s the key to developing Penix? Penix went 4-8 in 12 starts. In three starts late in his rookie season, he showed the former staff enough to name him the starter. He was dazzling in a win over the Giants, an overtime loss to the Commanders and a shootout with the Panthers.
However, issues with his footwork, accuracy and seeing the middle of the field cropped up during his first season as a starter.
4. Who will call the plays on offense? Stefanski called his plays for the most part in Cleveland. He gave up the responsibilities to Ken Dorsey one season and let Tommy Rees take over the play-calling from Week 10 on last season. Rees was named the Falcons’ offensive coordinator Jan. 22.
5. How will you manage Bijan Robinson’s workload? Robinson, who was named to the All-Pro team, had 272, 365 and 366 touches in his first three seasons in the NFL.
6. How will Craig Aukerman fix the broken special teams units? Special teams were a major factor in five losses this season, with missed kicks, allowing long kickoff returns, no touchback plan and blocked field goal attempts.
7. Who’s going to be the quarterbacks coach? Who has Bill Musgrave’s phone number? He worked wonders with the new president of football in 2008.
8. What’s your philosophy on developing young QBs? The Browns started 13 different quarterbacks during Stefanski’s tenure in Cleveland. Baker Mayfield was traded, and then Deshaun Watson was beset with injuries. The Falcons must develop Penix when he recovers, or Stefanski will be back on the quarterback merry-go-round.
9. Will the defense be less blitz-heavy in Year 2 under coordinator Jeff Ulbrich? The Falcons were one of the more blitz-heavy teams in the NFL for most of last season. Things tapered off down the stretch.
They did register a franchise-record 57 sacks after years of pass-rush futility.
10. Do you need more cornerbacks? The Falcons started the season with A.J. Terrell, Mike Hughes and Billy Bowman Jr. (nickel back). The team finished season with Terrell, C.J. Henderson and Dee Alford occupying those spots.
Will the position be a priority in free agency and the draft?
11. What’s the plan to stop the run? Do the Falcons need a big nose tackle to help anchor the run defense? The Falcons ranked in the bottom half of the NFL last season (24th) in stopping the run, and veteran David Onyemata is headed for free agency.
12. What’s the state of the offensive line? Will the Falcons continue to run the outside zone scheme with the current personnel, or will legendary offensive line coach Bill Callahan shift to more of a power operation? Or will it have to be a combination of various blocking schemes with better pass protection?
Where does right tackle Kaleb McGary fit into the plans as he comes back from surgery, and is there room for growth from young starters Ryan Neuzil and Matthew Bergeron?
How important will it be to retain Elijah Wilkinson — a pending free agent — who was solid while starting 17 games last season at right tackle?
13. How will the team approach free agency? Tight end Kyle Pitts, linebacker Kaden Elliss and running back Tyler Allgeier are the top free agent prospects.
Will the Falcons attempt to retain them, and would the team consider placing the appropriate tag on Pitts to continue his development? He was 19 when he was drafted and showed signs of a breakthrough last season.
14. Will you bring in competition for kicker Zane Gonzalez? Gonzalez came on to stabilize things down the stretch. Andre Szmyt won the kicking competition last season in Cleveland after beating out veteran Dustin Hopkins. After a difficult debut against the Bengals, the team stayed with him.
15. Who’s going to be the outside linebackers coach? We need to know who’s going to be working with James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker moving forward.
About the Author
Honored by the Pro Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his "long and distinguished reporting in the field of pro football," D. Orlando Ledbetter, Esq. has covered the NFL 28 seasons. A graduate of Howard University, he's a winner of Georgia Sportswriter of the Year and three Associated Press Sports Editor awards.
