Why Matt Ryan could be a good Falcons football boss despite inexperience

FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons franchise owner Arthur Blank hired Matt Ryan to oversee his team’s front office even though Ryan lacks the usual qualifications for the position. That’s reason to question whether Ryan can do the job as president of football.

He’s never worked as a scout grinding through hours of game videos trying to find the thing that makes one prospect better than another. Ryan has never heard lots of different opinions as a front office executive and then decided which ones should drive the organization’s direction.

But as Ryan explained Tuesday why he has advantages over other ex-players who took front office jobs, I began to see his point. Maybe this thing can work, after all.

The lack of direct experience could be a hindrance for Ryan, especially early. But Ryan’s experience as a player is an advantage.

After all, Ryan didn’t just play quarterback for the Falcons. He was the franchise quarterback for 14 seasons. That means that, over time, the decision-makers in Flowery Branch sought out his view when they were making big calls.

That’s not front-office experience, but it’s unique among the candidates.

“The longer I was here, the more (high-level) discussions that were had,” Ryan said. “It was never (that) I was going to be a part of the decision. But I was asked for my opinion, and I was asked to interact with them. I think some of those things will inform what I’m doing now.”

That dynamic distinguishes Ryan from the four other ex-players who had no front-office experience when they took top executive jobs with NFL teams.

Raiders minority owner Tom Brady is the only quarterback among them. But, unlike Ryan, Brady is keeping his TV gig while influencing front-office decisions. Also, Brady never played for the Raiders. John Lynch (49ers) and Chris Spielman (Lions) weren’t quarterbacks.

It’s not as if Ryan was calling the shots for the Falcons as a player. This isn’t the NBA. NFL superstars don’t have the power to shape rosters or (usually) hire and fire coaches.

But Ryan’s status as the longtime franchise quarterback gave him a window into how decisions were made above him. Falcons shot-callers couldn’t make big moves without consulting him.

“I think when you are the quarterback of an organization for a long time, the interactions that you have with a head coach, the meetings that you sit in in their office and talk about all the different things that are going on with a football team and the decisions that have to be made. … It’s different from other players,” Ryan said. “I feel very well-versed in those conversations, and I feel like I’ve done it with a lot of different guys that I have a lot of respect for, and I have seen it from a lot of different angles. And I think the same can be true on the front office side of it.

“I’ve got a lot to learn. There is no doubt about that.”

Ryan’s familiarity with the inner workings of Flowery Branch should shorten his learning curve. He already knows many of the people he’ll be working closely with, including president and CEO Greg Beadles. Ryan already knows what it’s like to work for Blank, who owned the team when general manager Thomas Dimitroff drafted Ryan in 2008.

Another reason to think Ryan can succeed as president of football despite his inexperience is that it sounds as if he’ll be overseeing the operation more than running it.

Ryan will tell Blank who he thinks should be the next general manager. Ryan isn’t going to do the things that GMs do.

“The difference is I’m not doing the scouting,” Ryan said. “I’m not running those meetings. The general manager role will be exactly the same as what it’s been here before. We’ve made that clear to coaching candidates, and we will make it clear to general managers.”

Ryan will tell Blank who he thinks should be the next head coach. He won’t tell that coach what offense they should run or which plays they should call.

Said Blank: “The best people, which is the only people we are talking to, they will have no interest in compromising their job and be less than they could be, should be in their role. Matt has no desire to overstep his role. His role is going to be to make sure we hire the very best coach and coaching staff we can, the very best general manager … and make sure he gives them the kind of servant leadership that we provide for our whole organization.”

It’s that last part that doesn’t seem clearly defined for the new president of football. Ryan talked a lot about his role in picking the next GM and head coach. Blank was clear that he expects Ryan to support those people and hold them accountable for the primary goal of “winning football games.”

However, Ryan and Blank were short on details about exactly what Ryan’s role will be after leading the search for a coach and GM. That’s not meant as a criticism. Ryan just got the job four days ago and has been focused since on vetting candidates for head coach.

Even Ryan wonders exactly what he’ll be doing after making the two key hires.