The Atlanta Falcons announced the firings of head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot after another season of missing the playoffs, after finishing the campaign 8-9. The Falcons are now moving forward with finding the new head decision makers for the franchise, and all reports indicate that the Falcons are looking to hire former franchise quarterback Matt Ryan in a top-level executive role.
“Falcons are hiring a new president of football, which many expect to be former Atlanta QB Matt Ryan,” reported ESPN’s senior NFL insider Adam Schefter on Monday.
However, the Falcons are not able to hire Ryan immediately and instead have to satisfy the “Rooney Rule,” which is the NFL’s diversity, equity, and inclusion measure to ensure that there is adequate representation in its franchises.
“The Falcons will soon begin interviewing candidates for their president of football and fill the role before picking their next head coach and GM. While Matt Ryan is expected to be the lead candidate, the team must comply with the league’s Rooney Rule before making any hire official,” reported The Athletic’s Dianna Russini.
Fans reacted to the news on social media.
“I was wondering if the Rooney Rule applied to this. good to know. I wonder if Matt Ryan (if offered the job) will fulfill his role at CBS throughout the post-season?” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“The Rooney Rule is absolute garbage! DEI is nonsense, hire the best candidate regardless of race, we’re tired of hearing about it,” someone else added.
“Rooney’s rule is how we ended up with (Raheem Morris). Go full on Rocker and hire Gruden. We’ll win a Super Bowl in 3 yrs,” one fan added.
It’ll be interesting to see if Ryan ultimately gets the job.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.