Editor’s note: This column was updated to reflect that the Falcons fired Terry Fontenot on Sunday evening.

Poetic justice, as well as elite ability to chase down quarterbacks, put James Pearce Jr. in position to make Falcons history Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

In the team’s final game of the season, Pearce sacked New Orleans quarterback Tyler Shough for the team’s 56th sack of the season, breaking the franchise’s single-season record. Pearce would add another on the next play for No. 57.

Who better to make the record-breaking takedown than the player acquired in a draft trade that was risky and easily criticized, but ultimately validated?

Pearce was the appropriate Falcons defender to make the play.

Who makes those future roster decisions is unclear, as change looms for the Falcons after firing head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot, the person who put his reputation on the line to make that trade.

Morris acknowledged Fontenot’s role in answering a question about the defense breaking the record.

“We’ve got to give a lot of credit to Terry, obviously, and his staff being able to find ways to build our (defensive) line, build our people up on defense to be able to go get after the quarterback,” Morris said.

The breakthrough followed four seasons in which the Falcons finished last or second-to-last in sacks three times.

Fontenot’s five-year tenure as GM had not been without its mistakes, particularly in his first few drafts. Many of them have been chronicled in this space. It is quite fair, for instance, to ask why the pass rush was so weak before this season in the first place.

But the roster that Fontenot assembled is playoff-worthy. This year’s draft class, highlighted by Pearce, is the team’s best in years.

Morris acknowledged the quality of the roster, saying there was “no doubt” the team could have accomplished more than it did.

“We felt that way right from the beginning,” he said. “There’s no secret we felt like we could be a playoff football team. We didn’t achieve those things. There’s a couple games here and there, we’d like to go back and take some of those back but you can’t.”

It was Fontenot’s job to put together a roster that could make the playoffs. From that standpoint, he did what he was called upon to do.

“I think we’ve shown that we can play with anybody in this league,” safety Jessie Bates III said. “I think if we were able to get that fourth (playoff) spot, I don’t think there’s a lot of teams that would want to see us.”

Fontenot’s draft netted Pearce, edge rusher Jalon Walker, safety Xavier Watts and nickel back Billy Bowman Jr. The first three more than held their own as starters, and Bowman could be a starter in time.

With 10½ sacks, Pearce became the Falcons’ first double-digit sacker since 2016. Watts finished the year with five interceptions.

The last time any team had rookies in the same draft class finish with double-digit sacks and at least five interceptions?

Try 1986.

Fontenot’s acumen was also revealed this offseason in the free-agent signing of linebacker Divine Deablo. A free agent after four seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders, Deablo was not on NFL.com’s list of its top 101 free agents. Pro Football Focus rated him the No. 189 free agent and No. 20 linebacker on the market.

The Falcons signed him to a two-year deal worth $14 million. In terms of contract value, his deal is 37th among linebackers, according to Spotrac.

But he was a difference-maker for the Falcons defense, finishing the season with 73 tackles in 13 games. His contributions included his ability to defend the run but also cover tight ends in the passing game. Before Sunday, Pro Football Focus rated him the No. 10 linebacker in the league and No. 6 in pass coverage.

“I’m just scratching the surface of what I can be,” Deablo said.

Seeing potential

And, obviously, Fontenot’s name was also on the drafting of running back Bijan Robinson and wide receiver Drake London and the signing of Bates, arguably the team’s three best players.

Robinson and London may seem like can’t-miss picks that anybody could have made, but they weren’t. London, the No. 8 pick in 2022, didn’t have top-end speed. There was criticism that, as a running back, Robinson wasn’t worth the No. 8 pick in 2023.

There are teams that drafted players ahead of both Robinson and London who surely would be happy to trade the players they picked for those two.

Determining Fontenot’s precise influence over acquisitions and releases is a little tricky. For instance, I asked Deablo after Sunday’s game what he heard from the team when he signed in March.

“‘Brick,’ the (defensive) coordinator, he specifically wanted me,” Deablo said, referring to Jeff Ulbrich. “He just wanted me to use my speed.”

Team owner Arthur Blank has wanted a coaching staff and personnel department that could work collaboratively, and he has that now. It is a reason why this year’s draft worked out so well.

Fontenot knows he can trust Morris and vice versa. Coaches and scouts work together to determine who best fits the schemes.

Blank didn’t have a wealth of enticing choices.