The Falcons made the decision to hire their next head coach on Thursday night, rolling with Raheem Morris over Bill Belichick. It was a shock to most, as Belichick was considered the frontrunner since the end of the season. However, internal power struggles appear to have won out, forcing the Falcons to pivot to Morris. Perhaps it was Arthur Blank’s preference all along or maybe it was a panic move, but an interesting domino fell before the Falcons made their decision when the Los Angeles Chargers hired Jim Harbaugh.
For the Falcons, it would’ve been a dream head coach, but he chose the Chargers. Why?
I have seen many Falcons fans question why Harbaugh would choose Los Angeles over Atlanta, and it makes me question my sanity. It’s quite obvious… Justin Herbert.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell explored why LA and Harbaugh were the perfect fit, and guess where he began?
“To start, there’s a franchise quarterback already in place. Harbaugh will inherit a 25-year-old budding star in Justin Herbert,
While there was speculation Harbaugh might take over a team like the Falcons and draft J.J. McCarthy, his quarterback from Michigan, the decision to lead the Chargers surely brings that train of thought to a close.”
There was certainly a faint possibility that Harbaugh preferred J.J. McCarthy, who would certainly be available at the Falcons’ 8th overall pick, but a sure thing in Herbert will always be the choice over an unknown like McCarthy.
The quarterback situation isn’t the only reason, though. Barnwell went on to explain the other element in Harbaugh’s preference of the Chargers — personnel decision-making power.
“The other element that would likely be most valuable to Harbaugh is personnel control… After the Chargers fired Tom Telesco in December, there is no general manager in the building for Los Angeles. The Bolts hired Harbaugh before picking their general manager, which seems telling.”
Now, some Falcons fans are wondering why that was a factor. After all, most would probably be fine giving away that power for Jim Harbaugh. Barnwell tried to answer that.
“The Falcons might have been willing to let a new coach make decisions over Terry Fontenot. But L.A. was the only franchise that had a clear opening and nothing standing in the way of a coach with significant power.”
I do think that if Arthur Blank wanted Harbaugh bad enough he would’ve given into his demands, but it was clear this was further down the totem pole for him than having a franchise quarterback like Justin Herbert.
Another aspect Barnwell pointed out is geography. Atlanta is better than most, if not all NFL towns like Green Bay, Jacksonville, and Kansas City, but Los Angeles will always be ranked first or second in every professional sports league.
“Harbaugh also lands in a destination where it will be easy to recruit. California doesn’t offer the same state income tax-free benefits that warm-weather states such as Texas and Florida do for players, but Los Angeles has been a highly desirable destination for free agents in every single major American sport for decades.”
Falcons fans can harp on the trio of Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and Bijan Robinson as well as the draft capital and cap space as selling points, but the fact of the matter is an elite quarterback is worth more than all of those things combined. Combine that with the autonomy Jim Harbaugh is set to have with the Chargers, and the Falcons never really stood a chance.
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Adam Ruff/Icon Sportswire
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