Said this on @CBSSportsNet yesterday: sources have told me a Terry Fontenot/Joe Brady union in Atlanta is very possible. Of course the Falcons are still conducting their robust search for a GM and HC.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) January 11, 2021
If you can’t beat them, hire all of their assistants and hope it sparks a revival to get your franchise back on the road to competency. That appears to be an approach the Atlanta Falcons are considering in their search for a new head coach and general manager, with two prominent members of the New Orleans Saints receiving serious consideration for the vacant leadership positions.
Jonathan Jones reported for CBS Sports that it’s “very possible” for the Falcons to hire Saints vice president of pro personnel Terry Fontenot for their general manager opening in addition to Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who would be their new head coach. Brady, of course, skyrocketed on the LSU Tigers’ National Championship run in 2019 before returning to the NFL, where he initially started out as a Saints assistant coach.
Fontenot has earned rave praise for his lengthy interview with Atlanta’s brain trust, which includes owner Arthur Blank and team president Rich McKay. The Athletic’s Jeff Duncan reports that Fontenot is preparing for a second interview with the Falcons later this week, which reinforces earlier news from ESPN’s Adam Schefter that Fontenot was among “two or three finalists” competing to lead Atlanta’s front office.
It’ll be a big move for whoever ends up taking the Falcons jobs after a decade of relative stability under former general manager Thomas Dimitroff. He was fired during the regular season along with head coach Dan Quinn, leading to this expansive search for candidates in Atlanta. Saints fans probably aren’t eager to see several standouts from the organization getting such attention from their biggest rival, but at this point all that can be done is to stand back and watch.
