Falcons Owner Blank Talks GM Terry Fontenot: 'You Want Sustained Leadership'

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Before the question was even finished, Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank spit out the numbers in a matter-of-fact tone, as if he'd said, or thought about, or dwelled on them many times over.

"6-3, two games up," Blank said during a press conference Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings in Palm Beach, Florida. "I got it."

The Falcons had the NFC South under control last season, cruising toward their first playoff berth since 2017. Then, they lost six of their final eight games, sputtering to an 8-9 finish. It marked Atlanta's seventh consecutive season with a losing record and no playoff appearance.

Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot has been at the helm for the last four of those losing seasons. Raheem Morris experienced the first two as an assistant, the third as a coordinator and interim head coach and the last as head coach.

A fanbase losing patience and gaining frustration started calling for heads to roll. Blank didn't go that far. He met with both after the season ended, and as someone who regularly says he wants to represent the fans, Blank made clear his dissatisfaction with the Falcons' late-season struggles.

"It was very disappointing," Blank said. "We beat the team that won our division twice. That’s not the type of finish that you would expect. Raheem certainly understands I was disappointed. Terry certainly understands I was disappointed.

"It wasn’t a long conversation, but it was a very clear conversation."

The Falcons announced several hours after losing to the Carolina Panthers in the Jan. 5 season finale that Morris and Fontenot would speak later that week, signifying the return of both figures. Fontenot acknowledged in his Jan. 9 press conference he hasn't done a good enough job through four seasons.

Now, the 44-year-old Fontenot is in the midst of an important fifth offseason. He's tasked with navigating a potential trade of quarterback Kirk Cousins, and perhaps more importantly, rebuilding Atlanta's defense.

Only two other top executives in team history have had four consecutive years without a winning record: Frank Wall, who was fired after Year 4, and Ken Herock, who went 10-6 in his fifth year and earned five more seasons at the helm.

With another losing record, Fontenot would be the first general manager in team history to have five consecutive seasons below .500.

But it's not a guarantee he'd be gone. Blank, who's known for his patience, emphasized Tuesday he believes consistency generates success.

"People say the NFL is 'Not For Long,' but I don’t believe in that," Blank said. "I fundamentally do believe, and I want to make this clear, the most successful teams in the National Football League, the last 10 years, 20 years, 100 years, teams that have long-term sustainability between the coaches and the general managers and usually the right kind of quarterbacks, those three key relationships."

The Falcons have the ingredients to fulfill such an idea. Morris and 2024 first-round quarterback Michael Penix Jr. are entering their second year in Atlanta, and the Falcons' top decision makers were aligned in their belief in Penix.

And so, as Atlanta tries to put its past struggles in the rearview mirror, it will rely on the same figures -- but with hopes that stronger continuity leads to different results.

"The system doesn’t change or they tweak it," Blank said, "but the communication pattern, the understanding with each other, the way they play the game, the way they make decisions on free agency and draft day is all coordinated so it becomes a very well choreographed dance.

"I think that’s one of the major reasons: they have an identity, the identity is understood by everybody inside and outside. There is real value in any organization to that kind of sustained success. You want to have sustained leadership for as long as it makes sense to do that."

The Falcons went 7-10 in each of Fontenot's first three seasons before firing Arthur Smith, the head coach who arrived with Fontenot in January 2021. Atlanta went 8-9 in the first year of Morris and Fontenot's tenure, though Morris noted at the end of the season he feels he and Fontenot added to an already strong connection throughout the year.

Morris also said in his Jan. 6 press conference he was excited for he and Fontenot to show their results on the field this fall. With the early waves of free agency over and the 2025 NFL draft less than a month away, Atlanta's roster -- and the second spring of Fontenot and Morris's pairing -- is nearing its finishing touches.

The Falcons have several holes still to fill defensively. Barring trades, they have only five draft picks, only two of which are in the top 100.

Fontenot needs to hit early and often. The Falcons' postseason hopes may depend on it. Fontenot's job may, too.

But Blank isn't tipping his hand.

"I think every year for everybody is a crucial year," Blank said.

This one perhaps a little more so than others.