The Atlanta Falcons hired Matt Ryan as the team’s president of football in January, and the former star quarterback is showing early on that he’s not just going to stay couped up in his office.
According to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, Ryan is taking a very hands-on approach to his role, attending practice, stepping into the quarterback room from time to time and even serving as an extra arm during drills.
“Matt’s been out here every day,” quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said. “There’s not a day where I haven’t seen Matt out here. Whether he’s chopping it up with the quarterbacks, taking some throws with us or kind of working around, just chatting with the guys. It’s not every day where you get a former player and former player of that caliber out at organizational practices, let alone the organization that he’s done so well for.”
Ryan’s first duties in his role were hiring new head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Ian Cunningham. Raimondi noted that Stefanksi and Cunningham will report to Ryan but will get final say over their respective areas.
Ryan was the Falcons’ franchise cornerstone for 14 seasons, leading the team to a Super Bowl in 2016, the same year he won MVP.
Atlanta hasn’t been back to the playoffs since 2017, but Ryan appears to be going all in to ensure it snaps its ugly postseason drought.
