Falcons: Terry Fontenot on his involvement in hiring Raheem Morris

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One of the most intriguing storylines of a very interesting Falcons offseason has been the responsibilities of Terry Fontenot. The Falcons general manager was not made available for comment when the decision was made to fire Arthur Smith, as Arthur Blank and Falcons CEO Rich McKay fielded questions from the media.

It was evident at that moment that Fontenot does not have the typical responsibilities that most general managers do across the league, but Blank and McKay did say Fontenot would be involved in the hiring process. His absence, however, brought about a lot of criticism from a fan base that was led to believe that McKay wasn’t involved in the day-to-day activities of football decisions.

That was clearly a lie. We learned at the press conference that both Arthur Smith and Terry Fontenot were contacting McKay over a dozen times a week. He was heavily involved in the day-to-day activities of the Falcons, a stark contrast from what fans were led to believe. McKay has been around the Falcons for two decades, first as the general manager and then as the CEO. He was instrumental in bringing a new stadium to Atlanta, which is why Arthur Blank initially kept him close despite firing him as GM.

However, somewhere along the line, McKay weaseled his way back into football operations. It was believed that happened around the time the Falcons fired Dan Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff, and it’s no coincidence they haven’t made too many correct decisions as an organization since.

It’s an abysmal look for the Falcons, leading to loads of skepticism about what was to come in the hiring process. Arthur Blank apparently heard the cries, because when Raheem Morris was hired as the next head coach of the team, it was also announced that McKay would no longer be involved in football operations.

If you believe that, I have a bridge I would like to sell you. There’s no doubt in my mind that McKay is still heavily involved. The hiring of Raheem Morris has his fingerprints all over it. This is, after all, the fourth time McKay has hired Morris throughout his career, which Morris brought up at his press conference on Monday.

Terry Fontenot, however, went on to say he was heavily involved in the hiring process. He also nipped the narrative in the bud that he and Arthur Smith were not in control of the decisions that had been made since they were hired three years ago.

Fontenot reiterated on 92.9 The Game that he led the interviews and is aware of how things may have looked when he wasn’t available at the end of season press conference.

On the surface, every Falcons fan should be pleased by these statements from Terry Fontenot. He has proven to be a good general manager, and nobody should want Rich McKay involved at all, let alone making the final decisions.

Hopefully, this is Terry Fontenot spitting the truth. I have no reason to believe he is lying. The Falcons as an organization, however, have lied to their fans more times than I can count. It always seems to be about optics with them, which is why I am still skeptical about the role that McKay has within the organization.

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Photographer: Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire

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