For Kevin Stefanski, the more things change, the more they seem to stay the same. After surviving years of dysfunction with the Cleveland Browns and managing his fair share of offseason quarterback competitions, he’ll once again find himself doing just that with the Atlanta Falcons. Except this time, he’ll only have to pick between two quarterbacks, not four.
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Much has been made of Atlanta’s $180-million deal with Kirk Cousins. But now that he’s officially made it through two full seasons with the Falcons, it’s safe to say that no other team is interested in picking up that contract, no matter how needy they may be. The expectation is that Cousins will eventually be released, but according to Stefanski himself, that’s not a foregone conclusion just yet.
New @AtlantaFalcons head coach Kevin Stefanski joined @judybattista from The Insiders! pic.twitter.com/Z5XiH2BCsH
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) January 28, 2026
“I think we have to hire a general manager first before I can give you a great answer there,” he explained to NFL Network’s Judy Battista. “Once we do that, I’ll sit with the general manager, sit with Matt Ryan, and put our heads together on all roster decisions.”
Given the results of his last quarterback race in Cleveland, many are assuming that Stefanski would favor Cousins over the unproven talent in Penix. However, the former Browns head coach made it a point to suggest that he thinks “very highly” of the younger QB and that Penix is “doing great” and “everything that he is supposed to be doing” while rehabbing his ACL injury.
Nevertheless, the main point is that nothing will be determined until the Falcons find their next general manager. It’s the most important decision that the franchise has faced in the last few years, and should they fail to get it right, not only will their performance in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft be at risk, but so too will their outlook for the next five years.
If you need an example of what an ineffective GM can do to a franchise, look no further than the Miami Dolphins or the Baltimore Ravens, two teams that equally managed to waste the time and potential of players like Tyreek Hill and Lamar Jackson by refusing to provide an adequate supporting cast. Just like whiffing on a top draft pick or trading away a generational player, hiring the wrong general manager is a common yet costly blunder.
The Falcons haven’t seen, let alone won, a playoff game since 2017, hinting at the fact that they have yet to recover from that historic 28-3 collapse at Super Bowl LI. However, they have a chance here to find someone who is capable of carrying them out from that shadow. So, don’t expect them to be in a rush to get an announcement made.
