Falcons Nearing a Finalized 2026 Coaching Staff After Flurry of Hires

FLOWERY BRANCH – The Atlanta Falcons have made several new additions to their coaching staff, according to an official announcement from the team. They have officially hired LaTroy Lewis as assistant defensive line coach and Ricky Manning as assistant defensive backs/nickel coach. Additionally, the Falcons have retained John Timu and promoted him to outside linebackers coach, and retained Barrett Ruud as inside linebackers coach.

Lewis, 32, made the jump to the NFL from the college football ranks just about a month after the assistant coach took his position with the Huskies. He was originally hired as the defensive line coach of UConn back in January, following new head coach Jason Candle from the Toledo Rockets. Lewis will provide support for Nate Ollie.

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Manning has seven years of experience at the NFL level. He has stops with the Seattle Seahawks as an assistant defensive back coach (2016-17), the New York Jets as a defensive assistant under Jeff Ulbrich (2021-23), and the Las Vegas Raiders as a cornerbacks coach (2024). As a member of the Jets staff, Manning’s secondary finished fifth in the NFL in fewest passing yards allowed per game (168.3) and second in passes defensed (88).

A former third-round pick in 2003, Manning played cornerback for seven years in the NFL before moving into coaching at the high school level.

Manning will provide support for secondary coach Justin Hood.

Timu has spent the last two seasons (2024-25) as a defensive assistant for the Falcons, working closely with the team’s defensive line under Ollie in 2025. Last season, he helped his unit set a franchise record for sacks in a single season (57), including 8.5 from second-year defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus, a total that led all NFC interior defensive linemen.

He will replace Jacquies Smith in his new role as outside linebackers coach.

Before Atlanta, Timu spent three seasons (2021-23) with the Los Angeles Chargers, where he served as assistant defensive line coach (2023), defensive assistant (2022), and Coaching Fellow (2021). He also spent two seasons (2019-20) as a graduate assistant at the University of Washington, his alma mater.

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As a player, Timu played three seasons in the NFL (2015-17), all with the Chicago Bears. The former inside linebacker appeared in 29 games, recording 59 tackles and two tackles for loss.

Ruud will retain his position from last season after coaching Divine Deablo, Kaden Elliss, and Ronnie Harrison to strong seasons in 2025. He joined the staff in 2024 with eight years of collegiate coaching experience, most recently serving as the inside linebackers coach at the University of Nebraska (2018-22), his alma mater.