Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot, after nearly two decades with the Saints, was willing to cross enemy lines.
“When I’m in a place that I appreciated so much ... my goal wasn’t to be a general manager,” Fontenot said Tuesday with a virtual call with the Atlanta media. “My goal is to be a part of an organization that I feel good about.”
Fontenot is set to work with incoming coach Arthur Smith in a collaborative arrangement, with both men reporting to president Rich McKay.
“We tried to set it up in a way that it was collaborative,” McKay said. “That’s the way we talked about it from the very beginning. That’s (owner) Arthur (Blank’s) vision, coach (Arthur) Smith’s vision and Terry’s vision. That’s what was talked about.”
Fontenot and Smith had not met before the hiring process.
“When we interviewed Terry, we brought up coaches, and the first name he brought up was Arthur Smith,” McKay said. “When we interviewed Arthur and we brought up GM candidates, the first name that he brought up was Terry Fontenot. So, that was a good thing for us.
“They’ll work together very closely, and hopefully they’ll see the world the same way.”
Fontenot pointed out that his first interview with the Falcons lasted four hours. He found it to be a plus that McKay and national scout Phil Emery were in the building as former general managers. Ruston Webster, another former general manager, is with the Falcons.
“I understand that I’m 40 years old,” Fontenot said.
Blank was impressed with Fontenot’s resume on the pro personnel side and more recently his work on recent college drafts after Ryan Pace left to become Chicago’s general manager.
“Obviously, they produced at a very high level over that time,” Blank said. “He’s worked hand in glove with Sean Payton. I actually had a phone call last night from their general manager (Mickey Loomis), and he wanted to congratulate us on the selection of Terry, and he felt badly because one, he’s a very capable guy and was going to stay in our division.”
The Saints have won the past four NFC South titles, while the Falcons have a string of three consecutive losing seasons. Fontenot did not want to discuss the intricacies of the roster and tried to deflect all questions about the future of quarterback Matt Ryan and wide receiver Julio Jones.
“I understand that we have some challenges, but there are also some really good players on this roster,” Fontenot said. “Top to bottom, I was really excited about the opportunity.”
Fontenot got emotional when discussing his relationship with Loomis, who moved him from the marketing department to scouting 16 years ago.
“Terry is one of the unsung heroes in our building,” Loomis said. “Man, he’s made a lot of contributions to our success over the last number of years. Just looking on the field you’re going to see Demario Davis and Malcom Brown and Emmanuel Sanders and Jared Cook and James Hurst and Michael Burton, a number of guys who are here because of Terry and his staff.”
The Saints have succeeded on early, middle-round and late-round draft picks.
“They have done a great job of building their roster of the years, during free agency and in a variety of ways to recruit players,” Blank said. “With players that have later turned out to be performing at a Pro Bowl level. So, we like his ability to have a vision over the whole department and his experience over that period of time.”
Fontenot was not concerned about the division of power with the coach.
“We talked about the roster, and it doesn’t matter,” Fontenot said. “We are going to be aligned. It doesn’t matter because we are going to make Falcons decisions. All of our decisions are going to be that way.”
Fontenot said that the Saints had a culture of development, and he planned to bring that to Flowery Branch. He envisions the Falcons can return to posting winning seasons.
“No. 1, with the Saints, we had a couple of turnarounds when you think about it,” Fontenot said. “After Hurricane Katrina in ’05, we had significant roster turnaround. We went from winning three games to winning 10 games.”
The high point for the Saints was winning Super Bowl XLIV 31-17 over the Indianapolis Colts on Feb. 7, 2010.
From 2014-16, the Saints had three consecutive 7-9 seasons before rebounding.
“We were able to really shift the roster,” Fontenot said. “I believe that No. 1, we are always focusing on makeup (of the roster). We want a smart, tough and competitive football team. Yes, we want prototypes. We want big. We want fast. We want competitive players.”
Falcons’ 2021 draft position
1. Jacksonville Jaguars
2. New York Jets
3. Miami Dolphins (via Houston)
4. Falcons
5. Cincinnati Bengals
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