Cam Newton Is Extremely Doubtful Of Matt Ryan’s First Decision As the Falcons President

Nearly a week after the Falcons owner Arthur Blank cleaned house by firing HC Raheem Morris and GM Terry Fontenot, his first major decision was to bring back franchise legend Matt Ryan.

Blank appointed Ryan as the Falcons’ President of Football, and his first task was to replace Morris and Fontenot while delivering the club’s first ever Lombardi. While the GM search remains ongoing, Ryan’s already made his mark by hiring former Browns HC Kevin Stefanski as Atlanta’s new coach.

Was Stefanski the best available name in the market? No, John Harbaugh was. But he is a very revered offensive mind, having won the AP Coach of the Year award twice. Still, fans aren’t thrilled by Stefanski’s arrival, mainly due to the narrative that he has an issue with black quarterbacks.

The genesis of this narrative began with Shedeur Sanders last year, when Stefanski was consistently accused of sabotage and unfair bias for playing Dillon Gabriel before the ex-Buffs star and never giving him first-team reps as a QB3.

Former Panthers icon Cam Newton has also leaned in to that narrative. “Kevin Stefanski… We’ve seen what you did with the good brother, Shedeur, a member of the culture … And you landed in the most ‘culturest’ of culture,” he began on the latest edition of 4th & 1.

“It ain’t no blacker division than the NFC South. You got Atlanta, Carolina, and New Orleans. That’s the blackest division in all of football … The NFC South is the HBCU of NFL football,” he added.

Apart from the ex-NFL MVP not finding Matt Ryan’s new hire a culture fit, Newton also raised doubts about Stefanski’s ability as a coach. “Who has gotten better from the player’s perspective with Kevin Stefanski?” he asked.

Per Newton, Matt Ryan should have prioritised a head coach with a proven track record of developing young players, especially when the roster’s average age for the 2025 season was 26.75 years.

“The Atlanta Falcons, they’re a young team. You got Michael Penix as your quarterback. Drake London as your receiver. Kyle Pitts… your team is young. You’re inheriting something that’s already great and ready to rock and roll. My question is, how are you (Stefanski) going to make them be the best version of themselves? Survey says, with your resume, that has not been the case,” Newtong argued.

While it is true that Stefanski gave Baker Mayfield his first real break in the NFL, it is also true that the former Browns honcho didn’t persist with him enough despite a very impressive season from the QB.

A more recent example of Newton’s argument was also seen last offseason, where rather than choosing to bet on the future by backing the likes of Dillon and Shedeur, Stefanski chose to crown a 40-year-old Joe Flacco as his starter.

What’s funny is Stefanski is expected by some to do the same at Atlanta as well, prioritising Kirk Cousins over Michael Penix Jr. This is yet another issue Cam Newton had with Ryan’s hire.

“You got Michael Penix Jr., who is almost a second coming of Shedeur. The left-handed version. We all seen what Stefanski did with Shedeur. And it was unacceptable,” he said.

All said and done, Kevin Stefanski’s era hasn’t even begun, and fans and analysts have already found faults. Safe to say, Stefanski already has a herculean task ahead of him as he needs to win the trust of both supporters and peers.