What they’re saying about the Falcons’ coaching and GM moves

Following the Falcons’ significant changes in the staff and front office, some analysts and pundits offered their takes on the moves.

Here’s a sampling of those comments:

Scott Van Pelt, ESPN: “If you’re the new coach in Atlanta, you have Bijan (Robinson), you have a defense that has a bunch of young talent and is much-improved this year. ... The Falcons, as a head-coaching job, are appealing.”

Ian Rapoport, NFL Network: “(President of football operations position) is a fascinating decision by the Falcons and certainly one across that NFL that could have significant ramifications.”

Pete Prisco, CBS Sports: “They have issues. You have a quarterback issue -- you made the quarterback issue of your own. You were the guys who drafted the quarterback after paying the quarterback, and that led to all kinds of problems.”

Former Chargers QB Ryan Leaf on SiriusXM NFL Radio: “This one was a little shocking ... if you’re a head-coach candidate out there, this has to be one of the most attractive jobs available, with the talent that is available in Drake London, Bijan Robinson and Kyle Pitts. ... This team is incredibly talented; they’ve underachieved completely.”

Cameron Wolfe, NFL Network: “Ultimately, the reason why these moves were made is the quarterback position. Last offseason in 2024, they made the decision to give Kirk Cousins a four-year extension with $100 million guaranteed and also draft Michael Penix in the top 10. Neither one of those guys solidified themselves as a franchise quarterback, and this reset is essentially saying we need to do this differently to get that answer right.”

Jonathan Jones, CBS Sports: “Raheem Morris, in these two years, if you believe that you had the talent, then why didn’t you get the victories out there on the football field? This is the worst division in the NFL, the NFC South. They couldn’t get it done last year; they couldn’t get it done this year.”