Falcons faced with big questions during NFL offseason
Image: Serena Golden
The 2020-21 football season was truly unlike any other, and that was no exception for the Atlanta Falcons.
The Falcons finished the 2020 season with an overall record of 4-12. This is their worst record since 2013, and the team failed to make the playoffs for the third season in a row. They are now looking to make many changes to their team in order to prepare for a more successful 2021 season.
The season brought a lot of changes for Atlanta including new uniforms and the firing of five-year head coach Dan Quinn, who was released five games into the 2020 season. Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff were both fired Oct. 11 after the team suffered five straight losses to begin the season.
The Falcons have been keeping busy and made some major adjustments to their team in the time before the 2021-2022 season as a result of the lackluster performance.
One major change comes in the form of a new head coach, former Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.
Coaching the Falcons will be very different from Smith’s experience with the Titans, especially since Smith is no longer coaching a team that has superstar Titans running back Derrick Henry. Smith said in an NBC Sports interview that with the Falcons he plans to “use multiple backs and trust our scheme” in order to account for less rushing production.
Sunday saw new Falcons General Manager Terry Fontenot fire Kevin Winston, Marty Lauzon and Mike Crews. Lauzon was the Director of Sports Medicine and Performance, and Crews was a videographer for the team. Winston was the teams’ longtime vice president of player affairs.
As for player personnel, the Falcons recently released safety Ricardo Allen and defensive end Allen Bailey. Atlanta is also not expected to use a franchise tag on safety Keanu Neal despite Neal’s longtime status as a starter with the team. The three players are expected to become free agents.
With NFL free agency beginning in two weeks, Smith, Fontenot and the Falcons will be looking to acquire some new players for this upcoming season. Punter Dom Maggio was recently signed, and Fontenot has announced that the Falcons plan to add a new quarterback and wide receiver to the team.
This could mean big changes for Atlanta, as Matt Ryan could be nearing the end of his Falcons tenure.
With all these new faces on the field, on the bench and in the front office, fans should expect to see a very different Atlanta Falcons team playing in the 2021 NFL season.

Samantha Homcy is a sophomore at Mercer and is majoring in journalism and criminal justice. She started writing for The Cluster as soon as she got to...

Serena Golden is a journalism and international affairs major in her senior year at Mercer. In addition to her work for The Cluster, Serena has published...
The Cluster’s comments section is meant to be a place for respectful conversation and reflection on issues and events affecting students at Mercer University. Comments are moderated by the student staff of The Cluster to ensure that those made visible on the website reflect these standards. Harassment, hate, spam and personal attacks on staff members will not be approved. This does not mean that critical comments will be rejected. We welcome diverse perspectives on our reporting and on students’ experiences at Mercer University. Comments will not be approved unless a valid name and email address are submitted. Please also note that our comment moderation system logs IP addresses associated with every comment submitted.
If you want a picture to show with your comment, go get a gravatar.