Take 5: Five quick takeaways from Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski’s introduction

The Falcons kicked off their new era, introducing their new head coach, Kevin Stefanski, on Tuesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

It’s the first big hire for Matt Ryan, the Falcons’ president of football, who was hired this month after the team ended the season with a disappointing 8-9 finish. That finish led to the firing of coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot, clearing the way for a new regime.

The Falcons still are in the midst of their search for a new general manager, but hiring Stefanski, who is coming off a 45-56 mark in six seasons with the Cleveland Browns, has set the course for the path forward.

Here are five quick takeaways from Tuesday’s introductory presser:

GM search continues

When the Falcons announced Ryan’s hiring, Ryan and team owner Arthur Blank indicated that they would have concurrent processes for finding a head coach and GM, and they hoped to have both done around the same time.

The search for a GM continues, and they could be nearing the finish line, with some candidates returning for follow-up interviews in the coming days.

“We’ve completed a number of interviews up to this point,” Ryan said Tuesday. “We’re excited about the process; we’re excited about the progress. We’ve got some in-person interviews coming up in the near future.”

Here’s the latest on that process.

Calling plays

One of the biggest revelations from Tuesday was that new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees also will be the play-caller. With the Browns, Stefanski had been the main play-caller, and he ceded those responsibilities to Rees after Week 10 this season.

Both Ryan and Stefanski say they have full confidence in Rees, and although he doesn’t have a ton of experience as an NFL play-caller, he has enough experience in his past to be successful at the role with the Falcons.

“Tommy will call the plays; that’s a setup that I’m very comfortable with,” he said. “I don’t know if you only measure experience in years.

“He’s somebody that I trust. … I have the utmost confidence in Tommy.”

Improving at QB

One of the biggest question marks will be at the quarterback position, and with Michael Penix Jr. entrenched as the starter, the Falcons’ future seems to be dependent on his improvement.

Stefanski said the key will be putting the effort into making Penix better.

“Player development, I’m a maniac about it,” Stefanski said. “We want to be a very intentional group when it comes to developing quarterbacks. Obviously, the quarterback position is at the forefront of that.”

There’s still some uncertainty about whether Penix will be available for the start of the season as he returns from knee surgery, but the big push will be on how Penix balances the run game and the pass game.

“I’m excited about the physical gifts,” Stefanski said. “The most important thing is to get healthy. … He’s attacking his rehab.”