Falcons hire Kevin Stefanski: Former Browns coach takes over in Atlanta in Matt Ryan's first major move

The Atlanta Falcons have hired Kevin Stefanski as their next coach, the team announced on Saturday. The addition of Stefanski is the first major move made by the Falcons since hiring franchise legend Matt Ryan as the president of football earlier this month. 

Stefanski, who replaces Raheem Morris, was fired Jan. 5 by the Cleveland Browns after six seasons. He posted a 45-56 record and two postseason appearances during that span. He won the AP Coach of the Year award twice in Cleveland, but was let go after going 8-26 combined over the last two seasons. Despite the recent struggles, he immediately became a hot commodity on the coaching market. 

"We're thrilled to land a lead-by-example leader in Kevin Stefanski who brings a clear vision for his staff, our team and a closely aligned focus on building this team on fundamentals, toughness and active collaboration with every area of the football operation," Ryan said in a statement. "Coach Stefanski is a team-first leader who puts a premium on accountability for everyone and a player-driven culture. 

"His experience in Cleveland and Minnesota has given him a great understanding of the importance of working in sync with scouting, personnel and the rest of the football staff to maximize talent across the roster and in doing everything possible to put our players in the best position to succeed. Kevin's style of leadership, combined with the staff and infrastructure in place here in Atlanta, gives us confidence in our shared vision for the team and we are excited to have him as the leader of our football team."

The Falcons will hope Stefanski can help their offense improve from 2025 when they finished 24th in the NFL in scoring. The Browns' offense struggled in Stefanski's last two seasons, finishing in the bottom two in the NFL in scoring both years. However, the quarterback situation in Cleveland has been dire since Baker Mayfield's departure, as the Deshaun Watson signing turned into a disaster for the Browns and many around the league point to the quarterback rotation, not coaching, as the reason the Browns struggled. 

In Atlanta, Stefanski will have Michael Penix Jr. entering his third season in the NFL but coming off another ACL injury that ended his season in November. Penix completed 60.1% of his passes for 1,982 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions prior to his injury in the 10th game of the year. Kirk Cousins played well in his eight starts, including the final four wins that put Atlanta into a three-way tie atop the NFC South at 8-9 with the Carolina Panthers winning the tiebreaker. 

The Falcons haven't won the division since 2016 when they went to the Super Bowl and haven't had a winning season since 2017. Stefanski certainly has experience taking a struggling franchise and quickly getting them to the playoffs, as he took the Browns to the playoffs in his first season in Cleveland, snapping a 17-year postseason drought.