With the recent news of Bill Belichick and the Patriots agreeing to mutually part ways, the Falcons are now one of eight clubs in the market for a new head coach.
The architecture of “The Patriot Way” has been connected to Atlanta, but he isn’t the only one. Finally, the team is making requests. According to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero, the Falcons have requested to interview Lions coordinators Aaron Glenn and Ben Johnson as well as Ravens defensive line and associate head coach Anthony Weaver.
Weaver played for seven years and has spent more than a decade as a coach in the NFL, working with J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney in Houston and under John Harbaugh, Mike Vrabel, Romeo Crennel and Rex Ryan along the way.
He’s known for his likability, work ethic and decisiveness around the league similarly to current Lions head coach Dan Campbell. Weaver worked as a defensive line coach with the Bills, Browns, and Texans to begin his NFL coaching career, and he eventually got promoted to defensive coordinator in Houston to replace Crennel
He has since moved on to Baltimore, helping lead a dominant Ravens defense that leads the NFL in sacks and has allowed the fewest rushing touchdowns in the league. Weaver’s background is on defense, more specifically along the trenches.
Glenn has been around the NFL for 30 years and was a more high profile player, selected 12th in the 1994 NFL draft and going on to spend time with the Jets, Texans, Cowboys, Jaguars, and Falcons fans may recognize the name from his time with the Saints.
Glenn got his start off the field in 2014 as a Jets personnel scout then spent the next two years as the Browns assistant defensive backs coach before returning to New Orleans under Sean Payton where he earned the title of defensive backs coach. When Dan Campbell left the Saints for the Lions, he took Glenn with him to be the defensive coordinator.
Terry Fontenot is familiar with Glenn as the two shared time in New Orleans.
Ben Johnson is going to be one of the hottest names on the market this offseason. He’s been instrumental in turning around a dormant Lions team, particularly the offense. His work with Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery, and Sam La Porta has piqued the interest of the Falcons, who feature a similar set of skill players in Drake London, Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier, and Kyle Pitts.
Johnson has reportedly set a high asking price for whichever team hires him, but Arthur Blank has never shied away from spending money if it means winning football games. As I said, Johnson is among the hottest names on the market, so there will be stiff competition for his services.