ATLANTA — When the Atlanta Falcons began their search for a head coach earlier this month, Rich McKay was sitting side by side with team owner Arthur Blank.
By the time Raheem Morris was hired, McKay had been shoved aside.
In an intriguing sidebar to the choice of Morris after an exhaustive search that encompassed 14 candidates — including six-time Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick, the former longtime coach of the New England Patriots — Blank also unveiled late Thursday a lesser role for one of the NFL’s most prominent front-office figures.
McKay, the CEO of Blank’s sports operations and a former general manager with both Atlanta and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will no longer have a say in the Falcons’ football-related matters.
Blank said the new coach, as well as general manager Terry Fontenot, will report directly to the 81-year-old owner — a change from the previous arrangement, which had those two positions having to go through McKay before getting to Blank.