ATLANTA — In what will be an offseason full of change, the Atlanta Falcons have begun interviewing head coach candidates a few days after firing Arthur Smith, who led the team for three seasons.
The team has talked to some big names in the football world, including University of Michigan's Jim Harbaugh and legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick.
However, on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Chargers announced they hired Harbaugh as their next head coach, meaning the reigning CFP champion coach will not be heading to Atlanta.
The Falcons also said they completed an in-person interview with ex-Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel on Wednesday. Vrabel spent his previous six seasons as the head coach of the Titans and under his coaching, the Titans won two AFC South division titles and made an appearance in the AFC Championship Game.
On Jan. 16, the Atlanta Falcons announced they interviewed Harbaugh for the job. Harbaugh has been in the spotlight after his team overpowered Washington to win the College Football Playoff title game. The season came with woes after the NCAA revealed a few months ago it was investigating the program for potentially breaking rules that prohibit in-person scouting of opponents and using video equipment to attempt decode play signals of opponents. Harbaugh spent the past nine years leading the Wolverines. Before his time at Michigan, he coached the San Francisco 49ers for four seasons, including an appearance in the Super Bowl.
On Jan. 15, the team announced they completed an interview with Belichick for the position. Belichick spent the past 24 seasons as head coach of the New England Patriots. He led the team to 17 division titles and six Super Bowl titles. The Patriots announced his departure on Thursday.
The Falcons started meeting with candidates last week. On Friday, the team had its first interview with a head coaching candidate when they interviewed Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald. He previously served as the defensive coordinator at the University of Michigan where he was also a coach there in various roles for seven seasons.
On Jan. 13, the Falcons interviewed both Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks.
Callahan has spent the last five seasons as the Bengals OC. Wilks just completed his first season as the 49ers DC, where he previously served on the Carolina Panthers staff before serving as their interim head coach after they fired ex-head coach Matt Rhule.
On Jan. 14, the Falcons said they completed an interview with Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. Evero was previously the defensive coordinator with the Denver Broncos in 2022. The team also interviewed Baltimore Ravens assistant head coach Anthony Weaver, who has served the past two seasons as the assistant head coach and defensive line coach in Baltimore. Wednesday, Jan, 24, the team announced it interviewed him for a second time. The second round was in person.
On Thursday, the Falcons announced they completed an interview with Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson. He has been under intense scrutiny from the fan base after the Eagles lost six of their final seven games, including a blowout loss to Tampa Bay in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs.
On Friday, the Falcons said they completed an interview with Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. He has served as the DC in Detroit since 2021 and was previously the defensive backs coach for the New Orleans Saints from 2016 to 2020.
On Saturday, Jan. 20, the Falcons said they completed a virtual interview with Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris. He is someone who is very familiar with the Falcons, having spent six seasons with Atlanta from 2015 to 2020 in several different coaching roles, including assistant head coach and passing game coordinator. Morris served as the interim head coach after the Falcons fired Dan Quinn in 2020 and went 4-7 as interim. On Jan. 23, the team said it completed a second interview with him.
Also on Saturday, the Falcons said they virtually interviewed Buffalo Bills interim offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who previously served as the quarterbacks coach with the team in 2022 and part of this season before being promoted. Brady spent two seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers in 2020 and 2021 after he served as the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach for LSU in 2019. He began his NFL coaching career as an offensive assistant with the New Orleans Saints in 2017 and 2018.
On Sunday, the Falcons said they completed a virtual interview with Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. Before joining Houston, Slowik spent his previous six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers in several different roles, including defensive quality control coach, offensive assistant, passing game specialist and passing game coordinator.
The Falcons announced they completed a second interview, an in-person discussion, with Slowik on Thursday.
Also on Sunday, Atlanta said it completed a virtual interview with Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. He has been one of the coaches behind the major turnaround in Detroit as the Lions head to the NFC Championship next week against the San Francisco 49ers. Johnson joined Detroit's staff in 2019 as an offensive quality control coach before being promoted to tight ends coach in 2020 and then offensive coordinator in 2022. He previously spent seven seasons with the Miami Dolphins in several different roles from 2012 to 2018.
Falcons head coach options
- Mike Macdonald (Ravens defensive coordinator) - Virtual interview completed
- Brian Callahan (Bengals offensive coordinator) - Virtual interview completed
- Steve Wilks (49ers defensive coordinator) - Virtual interview completed
- Ejiro Evero (Panthers defensive coordinator) - Second interview completed
- Anthony Weaver (Ravens assistant head coach) - Virtual interview completed
- Bill Belichick (Former New England Patriots head coach) - Second interview completed
- Jim Harbaugh (University of Michigan head coach) - Interview completed
- Brian Johnson (Eagles offensive coordinator) - Virtual interview completed
- Aaron Glenn (Lions defensive coordinator) - Virtual interview completed
- Raheem Morris (Rams defensive coordinator) - Second interview completed
- Joe Brady (Bills offensive coordinator) - Virtual interview completed
- Bobby Slowik (Texans offensive coordinator) - Second interview completed
- Ben Johnson (Lions offensive coordinator) - Virtual interview completed
- Mike Vrabel (Former Tennessee Titans head coach) - In-person interview completed
The Falcons have not given a timetable for when they expect its new head coach to be hired.
