Recent Falcons Head Coaching Hires Rank Near Bottom of ESPN Rankings

The Atlanta Falcons have had their series of head coaching hires the past few years, and ESPN wasn't favorable to them

ESPN wasn't too kind to recent Falcons head coaches | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons have had three different head coaches since 2021: Arthur Smith (2021 to 2023), Raheem Morris (2024 to 2025) and now Kevin Stefanski takes over in 2026. Since 2021, there have been 37 head coaches hired around the league and ESPN’s Bill Barnwell took it upon himself to rank them from best to worst.

Arthur Smith barely edges out Raheem Morris on the list, coming in at No. 22. Smith spent three seasons in Atlanta, finishing 7-10 in all of them, and ending his tenure with a 21-30 (.412) record.

Smith’s time in Atlanta came with its frustrations, specifically his usage of the Falcons’ top-tier weapons.

“Fantasy managers were infuriated by Smith's seeming desire to build the offense around the likes of Jonnu Smith and Cordarrelle Patterson as opposed to top-10 picks Drake London and Bijan Robinson,” Barnwell wrote.

The biggest issue that plagued Smith during his tenure, and would ultimately get him fired, was the quarterback position. 

 “But Smith never found his quarterback. He moved on from Matt Ryan, used Marcus Mariota as a bridge QB and then built around Desmond Ridder, all while the organization publicly disavowed any interest in acquiring Lamar Jackson,” Barnwell wrote.

Smith’s final season in Atlanta had him playing quarterback carousel, switching between Taylor Heinecke and Desmond Ridder, while simultaneously giving Jonnu Smith goal-line end-around carries instead of the team’s eighth overall pick, star running back Bijan Robinson.

Raheem Morris comes in at No. 24 on Barnwell’s list. He spent two seasons in Atlanta, finishing 8-9 in both of them, finishing his second head coaching stint with a 16-18 (.471) record.

Morris took over a team that looked primed to reach the postseason after investing at the quarterback position in two different ways during the 2024 offseason. Unfortunately, they fell just short in both of Morris’s seasons at the helm.

Barnwell gives Morris grace, citing that he turned around a Falcons defense that was ranked 28th in 2023 (it was 15th this season). However, if that is the case, it does not make sense for him to rank Smith higher than Morris.

Regardless, Morris had to go; the Falcons finished the season tied first in the NFC South with an 8-9 record, despite being eliminated from the playoffs approximately a month before the end of the season. Not to mention, under Morris, the Falcons had one of the worst special teams units, if not the worst unit, in the league last year.

Atlanta moves on to head coach Kevin Stefanksi in 2026. It will be up to the two-time Coach of the Year to turn around a team that has not made the playoffs this decade.