From the press conference following Arthur Smith’s termination to Raheem Morris’ introductory press conference, Rich McKay’s role has shifted dramatically in the Falcons organization. His ambiguity is astonishing.
To begin, let’s backtrack.
At the start of the Smith-Fontenot era, Falcons fans were told that McKay wasn’t involved in day-to-day operations, which was our understanding all of the way up until the end of the era.
Smith was fired, and there were only two men at the press conference — McKay and Arthur Blank. During this, we learned that Smith and Fontenot reported to McKay, speaking to the Falcons CEO more than two dozen times per week. To say it was shocking would be an understatement because Fontenot, the club’s GM, was nowhere to be found, not exactly a common occurrence around the NFL.
Once the Falcons began their head coaching search, two names dominated headlines and neither of them is the current head coach of the club. The search almost felt like it was Rich McKay vs. Bill Belichick. Who would Arthur Blank choose? His closest confidant or the greatest coach of all time.
Well, a combination of rumors and reports suggested that Blank wanted to hire Belichick without all of the other baggage. The former Patriots coach was expected to bring an entourage of front office and football operations personnel, which obviously put McKay and others within the organization at risk.
An internal pushback ensued, and the Falcons ended up hiring Raheem Morris. It had McKay’s fingerprints all over it; after all, it was the fourth time Morris had been hired by him.
What made the news of the hire even more peculiar is that buried in the press release was an announcement that Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot would be reporting directly to Arthur Blank and that Rich McKay would not be involved in football operations.
After all of the parading the Falcons owner did at the Arthur Smith presser about McKay’s experience being invaluable, he reduces his role following the head coaching search? That’s not all either.
Brett Jewkes took to Twitter to illuminate the behind the scenes process of the search that led to Morris. However, in the middle of it, he went on a tangent that felt a lot like damage control. Moreover, during Morris’ introduction, Fontenot also went into a similar PR stunt in defense of the Falcons CEO, saying he still values McKay’s input.
“Rich McKay has drafted Hall of Fame players. He has hired Hall of Fame coaches,” Fontenot said. “You appreciate having that around. Having experienced people around you is really important. That said, the decision-making was always myself and Arthur Smith. Moving forward the decision-making is myself and Raheem, and we keep everyone informed.”
If he’s so important and valuable to the operation, why is he no longer involved? The Falcons seem to shift McKay’s role every offseason, and it’s never clear. The actions of this franchise do not match the words.
At the beginning of the head coaching search, Rich McKay led the Falcons next to Arthur Blank. At the end of the process, he’s been completely phased out of football ops, supposedly.
This franchise, man.
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Photographer: Todd Kirkland/Icon Sportswire
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