FLOWERY BRANCH -- A day after the regular-season ended, Falcons defensive coordinator Dean Pees stood in front of the entire team and informed them that he will retire on Monday.
Pees has worked two seasons under coach Arthur Smith and the team finished 7-10 both seasons.
Pees, 73, then meet with the defensive players. It was important to Pees, who had a year remaining on his contract, to inform the players face-to-face.
“I talked it over with my wife,” Pees said. “We had a lot of long discussions. I made a list. Reasons to keep going. Reasons to not keep going. Just kind of really hashed it out and talked about it for awhile and just came to the decision that I thought it was the right time.”
The Falcons plan to have a “wide search” to replace Pees.
“Dean is guy who’s coached at every level, had success,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “Impacted a lot of lives. Impacted the game.”
Smith as a first time head coach was elated to coax Pees out of retirement.
“A lot of wisdom,” Smith said. “You lean on people. You never stop trying to learn from others. That meant a lot to me personally.”
The meeting with the players went well.
“I shared with the team, the reasons why I’m not coming back and that I am going to retire,” Pees said. “First of all, I told them the hardest (part of) the decision was not seeing them and being around the team. I love this defense.”
Pees discussed how some players stay in the league too long as their talent start to fade.
“Right now, my ego and my heart tell me to stay,” Pees said. “My mind and my body told me that it’s time. I caught a cold in Los Angeles, which was the second game of the season. I got over it Dec. 20th. My body just doesn’t go like it used, too. A lot less sleep. All those things were a factor.”
Pees said he kept a good attitude, had a grasp of the game plans and was working hard.
“But the hours, when you get to a certain age, it’s hard to put in 85 hours a week,” Pees said. “It is. I don’t want to be, and I think this thing is trending in such a great direction, I don’t want to be a deterrent if something ... if I start to fade, I don’t want to be a deterrent to this defense or to this team.”
After Pees vowed to change the culture, the defensive finished in the bottom half of the league in four key categories – total yards allowed (362.1, 27th of 32), rushing yards allowed (130.2, 23rd), passing yards allowed (231.9, 25th) and points scored (22.7, 23rd).
However, Pees believes the defense made progress over the last nine games.
“Where they’ve come this year from the beginning of the year to now, I’ve never had a defense do that,” Pees said. “In this last nine games, we’ve given up an average of 314 yards a game and 19.7 seven points a game, which would be fifth in the NFL right now. Unfortunately, that’s not the way it is because we played the first eight games and we weren’t that way.”
Pees saw improvement as the season progressed.
“To know that a team could improve that much … is just really tremendous,” Pees said. “I just can’t say enough good things about them.”
Pees cited other stats to back up his contention that the defense is headed in the right direction.
“We went from 28th in the league in red zone (defense) to 14th,” Pees said. “We ended this year in second-half points, second in the league behind Buffalo by one-tenth of a point. I’d say that’s a pretty good tribute to those young men.”
Pees said he wanted to travel and spend more time with his family.
“Sometimes I didn’t get to see my own kids play very much because of this profession,” Pees said. “At least now, I’d like to have the opportunity to see my grandkids play and be a bigger part of their life.”
In training camp, Pees vowed “to change the culture of this defense around this frickin’ place.”
Pees, who won Super Bowl rings with the Patriots and Ravens, correctly noted that the Falcons hadn’t had a top-10 defense over the past 20 years. The 2017 unit finished ninth in the NFL in total yards allowed.
Pees had a scary incident when the Falcons played the host Saints on Dec. 18. He was run over by Saints punt returner Rashid Shaheed during warmups. He was carted off and taken to the hospital amid medical concerns about internal bleeding and prescription blood thinners.
He said the incident was not a factor in his decision to retire.
“Congrats to Dean,” cornerback Casey Hayward said. “He’s being doing it for a long time. He coached some good defenses, probably some of the best defenses ever. He coached some of the Hall of Famers (Ed Reed and Ray Lewis). He’s done an amazing job since he’s been here. I want to give him his flowers as he goes off into the sunset.”
Linebacker Lorenzo Carter was with Pees just for the 2021 season.
“It’s been a honor to work with a coach like that with a legendary resume and an even better personality,” Carter said. “He taught us a lot just from a mindset standpoint. When it’s time to go, it’s time to go. I appreciate everything that he’s done for us.”
Rookie outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie felt he developed in his one season under Pees.
“It was very important for my growth as a player,” Ebiketie said. “Soaking up all of the knowledge that I possibly could. Leaving college there are lot of things that we didn’t do in terms of being in coverage or understanding the game as a whole. Getting that knowledge and experience is going to help me moving forward.”
Veteran safety Erik Harris was with the Falcons for both of Pees’ seasons with the team.
“He talked to the whole team and then he pulled us together as a defense and kind of just told us of his appreciation for us as a team and as a unit,” Harris said.
The players weren’t sure how to read Pees’ in the final weeks of the season.
“Dean has a poker face,” Harris said. “Nobody really kind of knew what was going to happen. It all makes sense if you watch him and his career and all that he’s done. He came out of retirement to help Art and get a culture set here. I think he’s done a really good job with that.”
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Atlanta Falcons 2022 results
Sept. 11 Saints 27, Falcons 26
Sept. 18 Rams 31, Falcons 27
Sept. 25 Falcons 27, Seahawks 23
Oct. 2 Falcons 23, Browns 20
Oct. 9 Buccaneers 21, Falcons 15
Oct. 16 Falcons 28, 49ers 14
Oct. 23 Bengals 35, Falcons 17
Oct. 30 Falcons 37, Panthers 34 OT
Nov. 6 Chargers 20, Falcons 17
Nov. 10 Panthers 25, Falcons 15
Nov. 20 Falcons 27, Bears 24
Nov. 27 Commanders 19, Falcons 13
Dec. 4 Steelers 19, Falcons 16
BYE WEEK
Dec. 18 Saints 21, Falcons 18
Dec. 24 Ravens 17, Falcons 9
Jan. 1 Falcons 20, Cardinals 19
Jan. 8 Falcons 30, Buccaneers 17
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