ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons have hired Kevin Stefanski as their next head coach.
Stefanski joins the Falcons after a six-year run leading the Cleveland Browns, where he was a two-time winner of the AP’s NFL coach of the year award and went 45-56 overall during his tenure, including 1-2 in the postseason. He was fired on Jan. 5, a day after the Browns wrapped up a 5-12 season and missed the playoffs for the second year in a row.
The 43-year-old Philadelphia native replaces replaces Raheem Morris, who was fired on Jan. 4, hours after Atlanta’s regular-season finale, having posted back-to-back 8-9 records in his two-year tenure. Also fired by Atlanta that day was fifth-year general manager Terry Fontenot, whose replacement has not yet been named by the Falcons.
Stefanski will report to Matt Ryan, the former longtime Atlanta quarterback who was recently hired for the Falcons’ newly created executive position, president of football. Ryan led the search that resulted in Stefanski’s hire, and he is also overseeing the process to fill the vacancy at GM, who will also report to Ryan.
“We’re thrilled to land a lead-by-example leader in Kevin Stefanski who brings a clear vision for his staff, our team and a closely aligned focus on building this team on fundamentals, toughness and active collaboration with every area of the football operation,” Ryan said in a release announcing the hire Saturday night.