Rookie Coordinator Ragone: How’s Relationship with Falcons QB Ryan?
Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Dave Ragone is 41 and spent the last five seasons with the Chicago Bears.
He was the quarterbacks coach in Chicago from 2016-2019 and was promoted to passing game coordinator in 2020. He's an offensive coordinator for the first time this year with the Falcons.
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Head coach Arthur Smith came from the Tennessee Titans, where he was the offensive coordinator the last two seasons, and he'll call plays for the Falcons this year. He figures to be an excellent mentor for Ragone as he gains experience in the role.
Ragone inherits veteran quarterback Matt Ryan, who enters his 14th year with the Falcons. Ryan has been with Atlanta longer than Ragone has been in coaching.
A quarterback with a bigger ego than Ryan could be a problem for a rookie offensive coordinator, but that was never going to be the case in Atlanta.
"I've always seen him from afar," said Ragone when asked about working with Ryan. "I know a number of coaches who've coached him. I know a number of players who have been his teammate. Now being with him here in this setting, he's as advertised."
"Professional, cares, smart, works extremely hard, wants to be the example. And so for us as coaches, when you have a player like that who's established within your culture that you can coach, he wants to be good. He wants to be coached. Everybody else kind of falls in line from there."
"He's been awesome."
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Ragone was asked to elaborate on his relationship with Ryan. Ragone couldn't have spoken more positively about his quarterback.
"In terms of coaching him, he's exactly what you want in terms of a franchise quarterback," answered Ragone emphatically.
The Falcons went all-in with Ryan in 2021 when the passed on the opportunity to draft his long term successor with the No. 4 overall pick in April's NFL Draft. Ragone has found out first-hand that Ryan's leadership is invaluable to the transition new coaches Smith, Ragone and the rest of the staff are making with the Falcons.
