 You'll hear okay? Busy day in the NFL for sure I'm just gonna say a few things to kick this off and then ritual as well, and then we'll take any questions you all have for as long as you want to chat So number one, I want to thank you for a couple of things. Thank you for being here on a really busy day I also want to take a minute and as many Media friends we have here in the audience who want to thank you for your support for the NFL for our franchise for helping communicate The story to our fans throughout the year throughout the years, so I always want to show appreciation for that. It's very sincere Without the media we It's important for us to get our messages across to the fans and it's important for the fans to hear From you as you see our results and interpret our results. And so you you are our partners So thank you very much for that These kind of decisions are never easy and Particularly when you look at the personal side of things and with the coaches that I've Been connected with and rich over a long period of time than myself my 22 years as your owner It's very painful when you have to make it to change like this There's a professional side of it and there's a personal side of it. So the personal side of it Look at someone like coach Smith You know similar to Mike Smith similar to Dan Quinn similar to you know other folks who had relationships with This is an extraordinary human being coming from an extraordinary family a Really great person great leader of men great family guy man of faith The man who's committed to the NFL the man has had a rich history in sports Who's had many options in his life, but it's chosen to pursue being a professional coach And he's had a great track record for a Relatively long period of time given given his age So we have nothing but appreciation for author and everything he brought to us and his efforts and And it's committed by his family as well However, you know at some point in time we have to separate our personal respect affection for the head coach in this case versus results and There's no question that over the last three years That our results have not been what I've committed to our franchise which has been championships and being competitive At the highest possible levels that we could achieve We haven't done that for three years. There's a lots of subplots sub stories Which we could spend hours talking about and most everybody in this room is either Verbally express reviews on or written about etc. So we could Debate some of those things or discuss some of those things, but we are what we are Searches underway It'll be co-chaired co-led by myself and rich who's our CEO of the AMBSE and obviously got a long story history as a general manager and Senior football person not only if you're on the Falcons, but really for that national football league as well The end of the day, I understand the final decision Will be mine, but mine will be in collaboration with you know with others We I said initially we've kind of begun the process if you will doesn't take want to get going So we're moving But I also want to be clear on this is that There is no timetable the only timetable is to do this correctly Take our time be thoughtful do all the interviews Be respectful make sure we have a full diverse slate of candidates that we're considering in every way and Give each and every one of them an opportunity to express their vision for our football team for our franchise for the roster Where we are and where we expect to go and Will take as much time as we need to do that and do it correctly So that means we and I think it's a good thing is rich rich and I've chatted about this more than once and I serve on the DEI committee for the NFL and have been involved in a number of these changes the NFL by design It's kind of slow the process down as multiple teams that are in playoffs now that does different rules about when you can Talk to each person Rules when they can talk to them on the way to the bathroom on the way from the bathroom I mean it's like a million different rules You have to pay a tremendous amount of attention to them I'm making a joke of it But it's they're very serious and very well thought out to be to make sure the coaches Are respected their teams are respected in their efforts being where they are are fully respected as well And to make sure that all candidates getting a fair opportunity To to compete for these unique opportunities So we will pay all attention to those rules. We did last time 2001. I think our search process that we went through with coach Smith was Widely saluted and supported at the league level as being kind of a model as to what they would like to see Clubs do I think we did it well We certainly had hard factual reasons why we selected coach Smith So we will take our time and do it as well. So I Reminded it as one story. I still remember this with Ambassador Rooney who's passed away and I'll ought Rooney's father Dan Rooney when we were doing the coach sir 17 years ago And he called me out of the blue and said I just want you to feel because we were way down the road We hadn't selected a coach yet and either at he he said, you know Just you know, take your time do this correctly. You're gonna hear it You can't hire coordinators you can't hire position coaches hire head coach immediately said or he said and they had taken forever And the guy they selected was Mike Tomlin So Mike was been obviously been a very successful head coach for them for 17 years, but I still remember that so I said this to Rich last night and I would say to myself everybody needs to breathe Including everybody in this room and our fans need to as well understand that We are all entitled to a good cry Whether it be in a literal sense or emotionally I get that but Nobody up here. Nobody connected to our organization Has anything else but the full commitment to getting us to the next level getting us to a championship level Getting us to where we have committed to our fan base that we wanted to be and that's having an extraordinary competitive team So we'll do everything we can to invest in that As always we'll put all resources on the table. We have an incredible stadium. We have an incredible fan base That for the last couple of years have been voted number one and fan experience in the NFL terms the environment we've created We want to make sure that we thank the people in the stadium, but we mostly thank our fans who have bought that energy to the building Despite results that have been something less than they wanted to see and we wanted to see but I salute them and Attribute a lot of that success to them So with that, let me flip it over to Rich and then we'll take as many questions as you all have we're not in a rush You be thoughtful about your questions and You know outside of my golf game any any any question is fair So I'll refer my golf claim to you the rich was that to you Mr. McKay. Yes, sir. So for me, you know, it's a hard day I'm the son of a coach. So I know the impact of decisions like this and what they mean. They mean to the families To all the people that are associated with you know trying to Get us to the championship level. It is to very, you know, it's a very tough moment let me say to Arthur Smith and to What he did for us, you know, when he came in with he and Terry and in 21 We were in a situation where the you know, the franchise Had some some veteran players that were on veteran contracts with a very very challenge salary cap And I give credit to both, you know, Terry and Arthur in that, you know, they spent two years retooling our roster Fixing our salary cap, which really wasn't the function of mismanagement before but a function of trying to keep a veteran team and taking a chance to win a championship and Then having COVID come in and have the salary cap go down, which really kind of caught us But that said I give them a tremendous amount of credit Arthur is a great human being a very collaborative head football coach gave great vision to our scouting department And I think that allowed The retooling of the roster where I think we're in a good place We intend to win and compete at the highest levels in 2024. One of the reasons We made this move is that reason And part of the reason we think we can do that is the work that Arthur and his staff did as did Terry and his staff It was not easy This year we did not achieve what we wanted to achieve And there are many factors around it But for us we have to look at the fans and say are we are we in a place where we think we can compete for a championship? And are we going to be too patient or not? And in this case we felt like the change was necessary to make sure that we compete in 24 at the highest level So I You know have a really good. I've enjoyed my professional and personal relationship with Arthur He's a he did as as Arthur Mike just noted, you know, he started at the ground I mean he was a GA or below GA that worked his way all the way up to being a head football coach and He you know, he's a very respectful very good guy in the building very good relationship with his players But we need to always hold ourselves accountable to our fans And we need to try to put ourselves in a position to compete for championships and that's that's why we made this decision at this time Let me yeah, there's two of the comments. I want to add on One rich alluded to I don't want to be really clear on this You know, we've been around the situations where The coach has lost called the locker room. You've heard that seen it may have experienced it here Maybe elsewhere you've read about it So this coach never lost a locker room I want to be clear on that and it's a great credit to him the other coaches But it's also tremendous credit to the players to the leadership that we had we have on this roster in that locker room that last play to the last day they were fighting and So I want to give them credit And our allegiance our alliance rich alluded to is to our fan base, but it's also to the players It's the players. It's not about Financial relationship between us and the players, but we owe it to the players To make certain that given their commitment to the game emotionally Physically energy passion everything that they do professionally That we're giving them the best opportunity to win and if it's anything less than that in any way then we have to address that ourselves So, you know part of this is to honor our fan base But part of it is to honor our players and make sure that they know that we will do anything and everything We can to give them the best opportunity To perform at the level that they need to perform to give us a chance to have championships in Atlanta So salute to the players and salute salute to author and his coaching staff to building that relationship with the players It's very impressive not just a handful of players a number of spoken out on his behalf, which is All accurate and honest and attributable to themselves. They weren't You know positioned to speak up. They just spoke from their hearts. So great kudos to to that whole group of players and that coaching staff as well So with that, let's take questions. David bassity. You all know we'll kind of share the questions and The L is usual first question Yes, as it should be. Oh, thanks Arthur and rich could you all shed some light and discuss? how the meeting went last night and then if there'll be some parameters on the Coaching search with the landscape that's out there now and available candidates Let me speak to the meeting last night. I think We met for, you know Probably a few hours maybe a little bit longer than that and we you know, we had a very respectful thoughtful discussion about the last three years about each of the three years about where we were as a organization as a franchise with a roster was We Talked about, you know, can considerations That were on the table and just felt at the end of the day and we spent some quiet time after we finished with coach Smith deciding that The right decision all things considered that we needed to move forward But it was very Like every meeting we've had with coach Smith for the last three years has always been thoughtful smartest heck Caring kind Cares about the game cares about winning cares about the players cares about our franchise cares about Atlanta So that's that's kind of the tone of the meeting. No rich talking about that I mean as typical, you know, Arthur Smith, you know, he's very well organized a very well-prepared It was a great, you know, really good discussion under emotional circumstances after a game and in an end of a season But it was you know, it was very productive and you know, and it was the right Thing for us to have that exchange and I was proud of him the way he handled it and as he as he does almost all of that It's hard not to notice that Terry font now isn't here Couple different branches on that first What's his role right now with the organization because it seemed like Arthur Smith and font now had a 5050 split on Decision making and why is he not? Kind of up here. I guess as part of this process considering. He's still your general manager if he is still your general manager So Terry actually is here. So are a ton of other staff people that'll be heavily involved in the search And heavily involved in the decision as we go forward because they're physically not here doesn't mean they're not very well represented here Terry Was aware of the process we were going through we sought out Terry's opinion opinion of other senior people in our organization as well and So he's you know, he's done an excellent job as our general manager Our drafts two thousand one two and three twenty one twenty two twenty three Have been good and some a little better than others are certainly a free agency the investments We've made this year on the pro side of the ball have been outstanding in my in my view Serious investments serious returns we've gotten from them But Terry is is our general manager and will be heavily involved in the process going forward as well Some other key people that we depend on in terms of their football operations and football knowledge Yeah, I would say Michael. I say today that I meet with Terry 25 times. Yes, probably Yeah, he's doing a lot of work the search Listen We've got a lot to organize and he and his and his people have to organize it Arthur's committee that he makes light of the DNI committee that added just a few regulations It's about a 25 page book that you've got to make sure that you comply with in in the processes and You know Terry and his group are gonna go through all of that go through all of the candidates go through all of the research They'll be sitting right at the table. So there's just a lot of work to be done. Yeah, the other thing I would add To that Michael is that you know, I'm one being facetious. I mean Terry actually is here with us I mean, he's not physically here with us But you know, if you were up at flowery branch today, you've got Every single coach and staff person is concerned about what does this mean for me? What does it mean for my family? What does it mean for my children? You know, we're getting requests on Can I talk to this coach or this coach etc. So, you know, this is a a I'm say a battle. It's not a battle, but it's a Challenge it has to be met on a number of fronts. So he's dealing with one front up there Rich was up there early today. I probably spoke to Terry four times myself today. So Don't read anything into him not being here is other than he's our partner. He's our general manager He will definitely be part of this process as we go forward and we Appreciate the work that he and his personnel department have done in the last three years most people in this room and most people around the NFL would Generally say that, you know, we've got a pretty darn good roster in a lot of areas always room for improvement But he and and Arthur Smith together have put together that roster. So I give them credit for that and With their whole staffs. Yeah, I think the structure the intended structure would be that my coat Wouldn't be different than it is now between the head coach and and the GM depending upon who the head coach is and That you know that I think one thing we're going to be very committed to is you know, the head coach Could be one that has head coaching experience could be I mean there's not going to be a definition of of this You know head coach it's going to be left to the best candidate Terry will play a part in and that selection process For sure a central part and then we'll determine exactly how you do it between the coach and the general manager What we did before is kind of the way a lot of teams are doing it, which is 50-50, you know Kind of one's got the draft and and you know one's got free agency one's got the 53 There's a lot of ways to look at that between the GM and the coach, but He'll be at that table. He'll be incredibly involved. The only thing I would say To add on to what rich said as well is that we made us we made a study in 2002 before Rich was Was with us, which is hot to believe because it's been 20 years. I think right 20 But I was really interested when I became an owner in 2001 and we did this in 2002 We're actually a GM that used to work for rich in Tampa Help do the study the history of the NFL. What what were the attributes that made teams really successful? We'll won't pretty time so the Show an animal answer to your question Michael is that you need a general manager and a head coach that have the same vision? For the football team the same way how you distribute it? if it comes down to Power you're in a bad place the word power should never come into play Shouldn't be measured necessarily I? do sort of believe in the bill parcelle's philosophy is that you're asking the coach to Produce the wins and be responsible for the team record etc at the end of the day is that you know You've got to let them partially or significantly be responsible for helping You know prepare the the recipe for the recipes that are going to require Shopping and what have you for players and if he asked Terry back the other day He just gave me the same analogy said my job is to help Fill requirements that the coach and coaching staff believe we need to build a winning roster so So we're looking for collaboration there has to be collaboration between a general manager and a head coach Has to be respect not always agreement agreement is not always a good thing a respectful disagreement is important In any institution any organization etc. So you want everybody to speak their minds you want everybody to be listened to The end of the day Hopefully you'll have the same vision the same focus you'll be able to come to decisions that collateral everybody agrees to collaboratively I should say How do you guys feel about knowing you're not going to please everybody all the time a certain Certain members of the fan base feeling that the structure for the coaching search should be different Maybe different people different voices need to be heard more so this time around Well, there are different voices that will be heard right obviously we have a different general manager now that we didn't have last Time we have different personnel people that will be in it We haven't decided on a search firm Whether we'll use one or who it'll be but we very well may and that gives you a different perspective I think Nick it looks totally different today than it looked You know ten years ago in head coaching searches in that the process is so much slower There's so much more time for research. There's so much more time for collaboration between a bunch of people to be able to Get to an idea and a decision that I think that I hear them I would say that, you know in Arthur's time, you know as an owner, you know, he's hired I guess five head coaches three of which have winning records two of which don't one of which I can't sleep at night because he got hired. I don't need to tell you who that is but You know those those three coaches with winning records were good football coaches Two went to the NFC championship one went to one one an NFC championship and went to the Super Bowl so But the process has changed and I to your point you need more people in it. There's there needs to be More discussion about it and I think having Terry and his personnel staff Which now have a pretty good sense of our roster and what the vision was for the roster will help us as we begin to talk to Coaches, you know the other thing I would say Nick I don't think there's anything wrong with the pickers and I don't say that defensively at all as me being, you know one of the pickers but Rich said it I go back and look at our coaches that we selected starting with the coach more Bobby Petrino It's probably Richard referred to maybe much Quinn coach Smith all incredible human beings great leaders, but also Put up records that were important for us the winning most coach in the history of the franchise Coaches took us to the Super Bowl. I mean I can go on and on so Our coaching selections. I think have been good And I wouldn't argue that coach Smith was a bad selection based on the information that we had based on his record in Tennessee You know personally, you know leadership wise leader of men, etc. Scattle one to ten somewhere between the 20 and 30 Just an outstanding human being Why his offensive record at Tennessee didn't Translate here over three-year period. There's a lot lots of stages to that lots of phases to that and understand it But you know, that's a you know, that's a question. So I think that in every case I would say this that we get a Greater understanding of what it takes to be a successful head coach in the National Football League And the challenges over time have changed Years ago and which could remember this when I remembered buying the Falcons in 2001 We had one person in the marketing department one person What there was one person senior officer and an EA that was it today. How many do we have today? Too many. It was not too many. Yeah, I'm gonna say we've got to have 35 yeah But it's I mean the business of the NFL and the business of being head coach Has changed the number of people involved in mark and media today the channels of media today the streaming the distribution the Requirements on the head coach today are dramatically different and much more intense in a broader way than they've ever been before Go way way back when when Nick you had here and rich had here I mean a long time ago a long time ago, but I'm in head football coach. The responsibility was this today It's much broader and so you have to you know figure out How do you keep these distractions away from a head coach so they can focus on really what they're paid to do? Which is to win games and win and win championships for the franchise. So I think we continue to Go on and more knowledge and become wiser Yeah Hey guys over here I'm sorry. So in trying to understand or let the fans understand when this decision was made to fire Arthur Smith you talked about a two-hour meeting last night where he came in sounds like it was a back-and-forth Conversation almost like maybe he was lobbying to keep his job Then you talked about separating Afterwards from him and then you decided to make the decision So might as that suggests that you had not decided to fire Arthur Smith Right away. Was there a process a few games ago where you started to think about it? And as of last night does that mean that that was a conversation about how you could possibly keep him and at the end of it Then you made the decision. How did how did it play out? I guess I didn't understand total Yeah, I would say number one steak you probably spend too much time watching serial stuff on TV but Beside that all that I mean, I don't think you come through the decision on this speaking for me rich can talk for himself But it's not you know, it's not it obviously it's not a snap decision. It's one that you You continue to Ruminate on as the season goes on You absorb things you see things how we're doing how we responding What's our record against winning team? What's our record against losing teams our record against losing teams this year was? abysmal honestly and It should be the first to say that lots of reasons, but we lost a bunch of games We probably should not have lost or didn't have to lose if you will so You know, I I don't think it was any any any one thing and it was not like one point in time We you know press a button and decide at the end of the day you have to do that and we did it last night But you know, we wanted to make sure that we had an opportunity to in a quiet way Several hours after the game, etc. To make sure we had a chance to listen to coach Smith We had a chance to share with him our observations and our feelings and why we felt the way we did and I Think it's just a result of that, you know of that process you you get to a point where you Feel and I and I've said this to several of the people and including rich. I think you know last night Is that you know, I feel Pained by the decision Personally, but I actually feel at peace Truly at peace about making a decision on behalf of the franchise and behalf of our fans on behalf of Ultimately our players not just because of their personal devotion to him, but actually think about the future and our responsibility To give them the best environment to create a winning championship team. So It's not it's not one one particular moment in time It's just kind of a growing equation that you go through and you go through and you balance and you rebalance and you balance You think about you sleep over you try to make up to sleep doesn't work out Well, but eventually you come to that decision and then when your other side of the decision Do you feel at peace about it or don't you and I feel completely at peace about the decision not for myself personally? Yes, but beyond that really for our fan base For the people that that were connected to I Want to go back to why Terry's physically not in the room with you here because I mean gentlemen Look words have to match actions and optically you have to understand what it says To everybody in this room in the fan base that Terry isn't here to answer the questions and given the press that press release last Night where he has just input if he's not the driving force behind hiring and firing Then it's fair to ask if his role is just somebody of a scout or player person or personnel director I mean the idea that he's not here doesn't sell it to many of us in this room in the fan base that that Terry has Authority to really pick his next head coach, which he didn't get the first time either Well, let me just answer the first day rich give you the real answer But he actually did have an opportunity the first time Just to be clear and you may not know the facts. So let me just Terry did not know coach Smith at all We interviewed we had actually interviewed coach Smith first before Terry font no ever met him We hired Terry And then Terry helped participate in all the coaching interviews that we did at that time including coach Smith So they had no prior connection, etc. And he was involved in that etc. Not solely obviously But he was part of the team that helped make that decision So we have nothing but respect for Terry personally as well as professionally and the staff that he's put together so I want to just be be clear on that so I Mean I we can't have everybody here That we all have roles to do. I mean if you were at flowery branch today. It's a version of a personal Difficult circus up there today. So he's holding that fort down Which was up there this morning and he's dealing with coaches their concerns their families Everything going on that's up there, which is very significant. It's not a handful of people there's a ton of people in that building that we got to be thoughtful about and I'm blessed having him there dealing with that while we're down here dealing with this. So Rich Do you want? Yeah, the other thing I would say to your question fine question, but Arthur Smith did not report to Terry and we didn't set it up that way We didn't want it that way we wanted it a partnership where there could be a shared vision and get us What we thought we needed on the personnel side and I think we achieved it We have we're definitely in a better place than we were three years ago based on their collaboration Today as we see it we see the same setup. We don't see the coach reporting to Terry So but Terry will have that same role as being in charge of personnel So that the idea was and Michael asked the question. It will it be a 5050. That's our thought going in Could change but please don't take it that somehow Terry's role would be diminished in no way shape or form Would his role be diminished? His role has still been to run the personnel department, which I think the record speaks for itself Both if you look at a traditional table of organization, they both report to Rich McKay And that we've been clear about that so that that hasn't changed and kind of rich represents Terry up here today again, we're trying to divide and conquer and just Be respectful of that that we're trying to you know, it's nothing to do with Terry. I mean honestly personally And I really I'm I would just share again I'm repeating myself a little bit But if you end up with a debate between a coach and general manager who's got the 46 who's got the 53 who's got the plus 16 Who's got this who's got that? You really don't have the kind of collaboration Forget about in my experience business-wise of football wise But throughout the NFL and the history NFL you really don't want to have that kind of measured This kind of relationship you want this kind of relationship between a coach and a general manager If they don't see the world basically the same way the world is round not flat Agree upon the number of oceans and number of continents, etc. You know They're gonna have different opinions about different things and that's okay. That's healthy in every organization Truly, but honestly You really want them to be you know having that kind of just free-flowing relationship respectful relationship and that's That's what we did have with coach Smith And I would say that's what Thomas had with Mike Smith and Thomas had with coach Quinn as well So we'll continue to seek that It's it's really not it's not this or this it's really more this how do you work together? But the same vision for the franchise and one more point I would make to is is that when we made the change with Mike Smith? Incredibly successful We chose to keep Thomas to mitzvah and keep him as the general manager and then we hired Dan Quinn We didn't have Dan report to Thomas. We set them up together we did that with the idea that we thought that give us the best chance to win right away and Two years later. We were in the Super Bowl. We felt like that did serve as well because it didn't start with two new people in powerful positions completely re-examining the roster and Doing some things that maybe take us go backwards before we go forward So that was kind of our thinking then and it's it's not too dissimilar to now Yeah, that's a really good point And I think you know every head coach is gonna have a little different perspective on the roster I mean we may grade every player with certain players that A's or B's and they may grade them in a B Versus an A so I mean that that input is going to be important from wherever the new head coach is But it's also important in terms of personnel To have that kind of connections you understand the history And actually share the experience of how this player has played over time What their transition has been into the league what kind of how coachable are they have they perform at this level all of that Terry and his staff and it's really a staff as well are able to help work Productively with a new head coach to get the kind of results for looking for sooner as Rich said rather than later As I think we went through with Thomas and coach Quinn You guys mentioned the first two years here Basically complete roster turnover all the cap issues you had one can make the argument that seven wins He over achieved with that Issue at hand you mentioned he didn't lose the locker room So was his downfall putting all his eggs in the Desmond Ritter basket or at one point did he Asked to get another quarterback And if so who prevented that So okay, so let's go to the quarterback discussion. I would say no, I don't I know of no discussion where there was You know a quote ask for another quarterback. I would assure you that Terry and Arthur talked through a lot with respect to the quarterback position whether it be draft or whether it be veteran free agent or trade and I I Could be wrong, but I know of nothing that I'm sure they might have talked about it over a beer But I know nothing that got to a formal discussion point I think the the idea with Desmond was They drafted Desmond third round. They'd seen him They liked what they saw they saw the progress during all the practices during the 22 season Played four games and they made the decision that that was the best path To try to win this year It didn't work out for a number of reasons, but let's not just say it was it was Desmond But I don't I don't think there was a disagreement over the position I think that they you know, they they made most decisions I mean listen they work together like GM's and coaches are supposed to work. We're not there They're just off working it and then they come back and report on what they're gonna do But I felt like their relationship their communication and the results were more pretty good And to me this is a unique situation for me because in many of these you hear this phrase Direction right? Oh, we got a change direction. There's that's a classic phrase in a in a situation like this I don't I think we like the direction of the team and of the franchise, but I think We need results and we need results sooner rather than later and we felt like that was what we needed That's what we needed to do right now to make that happen Zach. Let me add on to a little bit more Rich just to kind of reinforce rich said I I would take it a step further. There was never Capital any VR is still like I think I could still spell At least that word I can't I think you're right. There was never any discussion about any other quarterback path other than one that coach Smith and Terry and we supported but they chose to take and This is not to defend either Taylor or Dez But our quarterback play this year was clearly deficient, but quarterback play includes, you know scheme play calling Other players, you know, there's a lot of things that go into what makes the quarterback successful or not And how you transition a quarterback into the NFL with the level of complexity Of plays you put in front of them and whether it matches where they are in their career path There's a million things to go into that's all I'm going to suggest is that you know I've learned a lot in 22 years and that's one of the things it says so it's not just the player It's the coach the coaching Many of these young men today in all positions come in the NFL today. They are diamonds in the rough But they need to be polished and polished by a great coaching staff and So I mean the Desmond I'd say Desmond would say the same thing Taylor would say the same thing Wasn't the kind of years that they they hoped to have personally obviously for the club as well they'll continue to work on their crafts and continue to get better and Who knows what the future will hold for Desmond bright young man committed team leader athletic Obviously not the kind of year that he wanted not the kind of year we wanted and Taylor Heineke Had a different track record elsewhere and Played through a number of injuries this year and So we'll see but I mean I don't I mean We I know that I did and I know that mr. McKay did as well that Any option that the coach ever wanted relative to whether your quarterback or any other position was completely supported by all of us 1,000 1,000 percent Without any equivocation Gentlemen, Jerry. How are you? Good to see you? Wondering how much weight you will put on Previous head coaching experience and you know rich just talked about needing to you know to win sooner rather than later You talked about Arthur the demands on the head coach and how it's changed Given the fact that you've never hired Head coach a coach with head coaching experience and I fell head coaching experience outside of Petrino. Does that change now? Yeah, so I would say Jared that For me, you know, I think I've hired two coaches in Tampa and then and then have been part of the ones here I I think I I would say that I am inclined to say that that the Where you look should be incredibly broad and it should include head coaching experience And I think there is something to head coaching experience But it's got to be the right head coaching experience and and and that is not so easy To find because I it's not been easy for me to find over the years But I think if you find one and you should consider it absolutely why wouldn't you? But I think also you have to on the coordinator side You just have to take your time and make sure that you're paying attention to what is their experience? How many years have they been a coordinator? There's a lot of studies that have been done on that and I think you need to pay attention to that So I'm not going to sit here and say that you shouldn't have a prior head coach But I wouldn't also say that you have to be you know biased towards it I think you just got to take your I think the one thing that I knew Back when the day when I first started in this league was this process used to be a race That's what it used to be It was a race and all you did was get on the phone and race and you pulled the trigger You might not have you might have interviewed him for an hour But you were scared that is no longer the case and therefore that to me It makes it way better to do just what you describe which is bring all the candidates in former head coaches And current coordinators and let them you know have an opportunity to speak and talk to you about your football team Here I would add on You know, I know you've been around the league been around the game longer than I've than I've been I don't know how many years but very long and long story career as a reporter and a journalist Don't want to you know, salute you for that I Do think today being a head coach in the NFL is more demanding and more complex Players I think are You know coming into NFL with a different set of life experiences today often expectations And so I think a head coach has the part of his job is to you know Be a sometimes be a psychologist along with everything else putting a team together the right kind of chemistry So I think you you you you either have to work when you're working with coordinators and bringing them in There are examples of coordinators like you know, Shawn McVeigh or play calling or Kyle Shanahan Obviously was part of our franchise and great success here and moved on obviously even greater success elsewhere But those are both play callers, but they've surrounded themselves and with a structure that allows them to If you get enough coaching on the other side of the ball or enough support in their role as a head coach where? They can maintain the focus on on the football side of the business the way they the way they have to So I think you know if you bring in a coordinator today I think any coordinator would say is that you know I mean I'm great at one side of the ball the other side of the ball But you know I'm gonna need some work to help frame out my job as a head coach And to make sure that my time and attention gets balanced on both sides of the ball because you know one side of the ball The other side of the ball. They're both both. They're both critical There's no question the league is leading more to an offensively minded Play these days with a number of points being scored versus in the past etc But you know you got to have a great defense to be able to play competitively We had a we had a very good defense this year Wasn't consistently great and certainly had its its its moments of stress in the last four or five games So, you know, I think that I think it Richard said you want to cast the widest net you can and then because of the Process we go through today for all the right reasons slowing things down Ambassador Rooney was right many years ago 17 years ago. We told me breathe take it easy You'll find the right guy and obviously he did and I know we will too and we have Just not somebody over that period of time But you know we want to make sure that whoever we bring in we make sure they has all of the Tools in their toolbox that they need to be fully supported so they can be fully successful so It's it is a more demanding job I think that it was 20 years ago which could speak to that you tell you about I don't know His dad. I don't know how his father would feel about that today But I suspect, you know In many ways even more demanding than when when coach McKay was a tamper or you know prior years at USC Does that mean that your philosophy has changed just in terms of how you weigh head coaching experience? I I say for me me personally I think it's it's a it's a you know, it's a greater recognition. I think and this maybe this gets back to the question that Nick or one of the gentlemen were asking before earlier is that you know, you were fine as an owner I think you were fine your Your definition of what it's going to take to help head coach become really fully successful What is everything that we can do to give them the resources and the resources is the culture of the environment Financial resources all of those things and to make sure they have the all the peace parts that they need around them So they can they can produce the levels that represent the very best of them and represent the best for the franchise And that will vary a little bit from person to person So if you hire somebody who's got tons of experiences ahead coach They probably need less of that in certain areas because they have that experience you hire somebody else You can have to figure out. Well, how do we make sure that they continue to stay focused on what got them here? Which is great football results, but how do we make sure they don't become diluted in terms of their their results? On the football field and make sure they have everything else around them so they can be fully successful and I I do think That most coaches in the NFL would probably say their job compared to the 10 15 20 years ago Is more complicated today than it's been in the past So we need to recognize that and fill in the blanks for them. Hope help them Was it a mistake not to pursue Lamar Jackson the mistake to not pursue you asking me I'll give them. Yeah, I Don't you know, I don't think so. I mean, I think that I mean, it's easy to say yes You know looking given his year. He's an obviously incredible player You know, we You know did not have a cap space. I think the coaching staff felt Coaching personnel always felt collectively, but certainly coach and Terry that you know, we felt we had an answer and in Ritter a younger player without you know That kind of contract that would have kept us from actually building the team We want we wanted to build is you know What's happened to us too often the past Josh and you've seen this and many people in this room can remember players that we've Drafted well brought them along got to year four you have to be a five We had a let them go because we didn't have the cap space. It's not a question of cash You didn't have a cap space that we had to let players go That's not a good. That's not a good formula We want to be able to raise our own children and keep our own children as best we can so I think you know the result of that thinking was that let's let's stay the course let's Continue to pursue the vision that we have now continue to build a roster build this foundation offensively and defensively And and go from there. It's not a criticism of our You know, you can debate whether or not he would have really been available or not, you know, who knows Whether they would have matched whatever office around the table. I don't know that. I'm not sure but Certainly a great player for sure. I had a great year Rich to use not to ask your feet. Mr. Blank, but But did in using your words and things that things that reached reached or did not reach the level of formal discussion Did that question ever reach the level of formal discussion or was it? Well, we were in we're in cap rehab And we were coming out of cap rehab and we felt good about where the cap rehab was going I think anytime you talk about and I don't like to speak talk about specific players on other teams That does tend to get you in a little trouble But anytime you're dealing with the restricted free agent, which is that that's what a tender does You have to also decide is there a chance this player is going to come or not Because ultimately you don't get to make that decision that the home team does And so I would say in players like the one you described that I think the internal answer was no And so I've been down that path I did a restricted free agent one of my first years in a league did Neil O'Donnell knew we had him We were so excited. We were ready for the press conference and I think at 11 58 They matched the offer and the Steelers kept them so I I think I think that discussion was had But I would say that I think that was what the answer was Yeah, but I guess maybe a year and a half ago now you guys pursued to Sean Watson and that led to the Yeah, but a year and a half ago now you guys pursued to Sean Watson that eventually led to the trade of Matt Ryan and Then put you guys in a different maybe quarterback situation. Maybe you would have been otherwise Looking back now Who was the driving force behind making that Watson pursuit and you look back now and say maybe that Kind of messed up the plan that they might have had all along or so or what was with with Arthur and Terry I mean, I'm happy to answer. I rich can answer as well I think the decision at the time to pursue The show on to the extent that we did was a collaborative decision Collaborate just the way we're gonna be making the next decision about the next head coach There'll be a number of people involved in that We pursued it to a point And at some point it didn't make sense for us and so we you know, we became just an observer No, I think that Matt We start out by saying this and you're rich and I've talked about this. I mean Matt He's certainly gonna end up in our ring of honor whether he ends up in the National Football League Hall of Fame He's certainly One of the greatest players and greatest quarterbacks we've ever had in our in our history We've we had an incredible 14 years with Matt. I think We had collectively continued to you know, push that ball down the field as an organization whether it be with Matt and others Had continued to try to look for that last piece of two and get us over the hump, etc And I think it unfortunately got to a point where the salary cap situation was was so, you know so burdensome that we couldn't build the kind of franchise the kind of roster that we needed to have going forward and It's not a criticism of anybody's it's a reality of the National Football League So at some point you have to decide, you know, should we move on and try to do a reset and Have another 14 year run with another version of Matt Ryan, which is you know, incredibly difficult to duplicate because he's a special Player especially when being a special player as well So I don't think looking back at that decision. I don't think Even looking back with you know with hindsight. I don't think we would have done anything any differently at that time It was not a long Discussion we had about the Sean went through a little bit of the process with him Then you know, we decided for a lot of reasons that we didn't want to continue pursuing that Do you want to add to that rich? Now, you know, listen, we were Matt Ryan is one of my favorite people in life And one of the greatest players had ever played for the franchise We'll definitely be in the ring of honor and whenever he's ready to get in the ring of honor In the pursuit of a what was talked about as a franchise potential franchise quarterback I understand it. We all sat in the room and talked about it And it didn't it became apparent that it wasn't going to work for us And the consequence of having Matt then move and go to Indianapolis. We understand it Hate seeing him go anywhere else But respect the hell out of Matt the person and the player and for us We had to get the salary cap moving it had to move because Matt was occupying You know over 20 25 percent of our cap And so that was going to have to happen at some point and it reached a point where I just Remind everybody who may be worth us or not But I mean last 20 years in the Super Bowl has never been a quarterback Who's been more than 70% of the teams cap and Matt was approaching close to 25% of ours It's nothing to criticism of Matt's another criticism of Thomas not a criticism of our coaches involved in and doing that or richer myself Etc. We all signed up for it and we were Thankful going back to 2008. We drafted Matt that he had an incredible career with us, but at some point You have to make a transition, you know at some point you're forced to make a transition whether it's related to Compensation or it's related to annual performance. You have to make that judgment and move on and you know teams have done an Extraordinarily well over the years you look at what's happened in Green Bay They moved on with you know from Brett Farve to Aaron Rodgers Aaron Rodgers apparently Jordan Love is now Playing at a very high level whether it'll be Aaron Rodgers and not a time to tell but you know He's you know, he's playing at a very high level as well So, you know, that's ideal and that's kind of the direction we've built to move in ourselves Now you guys were gonna move on so just to be very clear You guys were going to plan on moving on from Matt Ryan regardless of the show and based off of the way you guys talked about the salary cap or Or so Matt could have been if you guys had not but Matt could have been the quarterback last year It could have been but there was going to be That discussion was ongoing as to what what the timing was going to be because at some point You have to exercise the June 1 rule and put the dead money into the next year and that for us It turned out that that's what we did But I know I would not I'm not trying to tie those two together Thank you. I don't know if it behooves anybody up there to say it or not but with all the data points as why didn't that is you're gonna cast all the lists all the 20-plus years of experience you have is it unfair for someone like me to say that Hiring a head coach is nothing more than a crapshoot now, or do you feel that's not the case? Yeah? I would say I would you know, I mean I Would say the day it becomes a crapshoot is that I Definitely don't think that I ought to be the owner of the franchise. I would take great exception to that On behalf of myself and by half of everybody who's involved in the process. It's absolutely not a crapshoot I don't think that Mike Smith was a crapshoot Dan Quinn was not a crapshoot Jim Laura for a period of time was not a crapshoot Coach Smith really and in fairness to him year one year two was really not a crapshoot It was highly, you know, I mean Arthur Smith when we recruited him Was Probably the most demanded one of the most highly demanded Coordinators that were available at the time and his record in Tennessee was not good. It was impeccable They led they led the National Football League two years in a row in red zone success and Goal to go success, etc. Not in the top quartile. They were they were number one number two basically number one So it's far from a crapshoot But you know you you you plan on certain things and a lot of it depends on, you know, it's not just the head coach It's you know who he's working with the general manager Players you make the right bets the right players do you draft the right players? Do you invest wisely and free agency? Do those players return on their investment? There's a whole variety of things that come into play. Do you have injuries? Don't you have injuries? I mean there's a million things that come into play though. It's absolutely not a crapshoot and Certainly not with this franchise and You know, I can't speak for every owner in the NFL, but I I would say most of my partners the NFL would feel the same way But you can only measure it to a certain extent and there's a many factors then to come into play But I guess I'm looking at league white numbers of how many years guys are getting in these cycles And if it's a three-year turnaround three-year turnaround league white not just here What is it something that there with everything that you know? It's almost like picking a quarterback It seems that there are gonna be factors that are gonna come into play that make the cycle as vicious as it is Well, there's no question that the National Football League is a highly competitive league. There's 32 teams So we're gonna have half of them if you know if not more lose every year and when they do There are gonna be people both internally and externally that begin to have that discussion So I don't I don't I don't know that the patient's level of franchises has changed that dramatically But it probably has moved a little bit From the days of of staying, you know staying the course But I don't think that teams take this decision lightly and nobody does this For the press conference. There's nobody making a change like this I that I know of for the press They're making it because they want to win a championship and they want to change the course. Yeah. Yeah, I think I would say is that This would be very true in all of my business experience which goes back 60 odd years now Is that and the NFL really is no different it does require the degree of patience Which isn't always my longest suit because I represent And in patients inside for you know results productivity Etc. Etc. And most everybody works with me would say the same thing and representing the fans in that in that regard as well Which is healthy. I'm not apologizing for that. That's that's the way I'm wired That's you know, and they never understand that having said that It does take time particularly as you go through and Trying to answer a little bit what Mike was asking and what Zach was answering it takes a little bit of time Because you know, this is not an open market. You have limitations called salary cap I mean, there's a there's a and it's not a loose calorie cap. It's a hard salary cap So you have limitations on what you can do and how quickly that you can do it in So it takes some time It takes a degree of patience to build a roster to bring in these young men to make sure the property coach to make Sure that every every box fits properly square square hole and square box and square hole, etc, etc And that takes some time and So you'd like to get immediate results all the time Sometimes you can strike and it can happen. Usually it takes some time to go through a healthy transition and so I I agree with rich and putting a few more words on it probably a little more excessively so but but It it you can't you can't be impulsive about these changes This is coach Smith was with us almost Seven years coach Quinn was with us almost six years I mean, it's you want to give these coaches time to do their job and working in conjunction with the general manager Give them time to do it and it does take time. So sometimes two or three years is not really sufficient in this case We felt you know the evidence for us and the direction where the team was going etc, etc That this was the right time, but I would not look as look at three years as being Acceptable normal, you know check that box. That's I mean, I don't think You know, I would say this for every organization in the NFL. That's not a desired outcome for sure Arthur this is for you and rich the things that have gone on have gone on for a while and there's Arthur blank the Benevolent business man man of the community all the things you done on the west side and what you did to the dome with your own Funds and what you've done with Mercedes been stating, but there's also Arthur blank the owner and There have been two winning seasons in the last 11 years and three of your coaches that you've hired have not made it past Three seasons of coaching. How do you quell the angst of fans that say is the same old thing? With rich McKay and Arthur blank coming up at another press conference and you quell the angst that this could be the time That you could get it right or better asked maybe how do you self-scalp? Maybe some of the things you've done that you may do differently moving forward with this next coaching hire I think that's a very fair question. I think that I You know spent a lot of time and reflection and you know you have You know you have someone like the coach Quinn who's performed an extraordinary high-levels defensive coordinator Seattle and again in Dallas and kind of what Why didn't that translate here in Atlanta someone like coach Smith perform an extraordinary high level as an offensive coordinator in Tennessee? Why didn't translate here on the offensive side of the ball? So you you think about what as an owner you can do, but you know I mean my job is to you know surround myself with the very best people people like which we carry Terry Fontenot great coaches The whole organization and it's a whole organization that supports the Atlanta Falcons I'm not talking about marketing wise or community wise, but just even the team and we've got a world-class first-class organization and And I think they'll bring the very best thinking and the most objective thinking Everybody's trying to listen and learn and understand and reflect And come up with you know a better set of answers where we can There are things that we can control for and things we can't but we definitely want to Challenge ourselves to make sure we represent the fans in the very best possible way that we can and It's not you know, it's not a reflection on anybody. I think of the organization. It's You know, there are things that you can predict and other things you can't so it's not a crapshoot use the word earlier, but There are many many variables that come into play and what produces the kind of success and I do think All of my business experience Is long-term, you know Richmond K may be one of the most junior executives with us a and BSE are broad Businesses if you will and he's been with us for you know 20 years You know our golf businesses run by guys been with us for 30 37 years best golf especially retail in the world today I mean so, you know continuity is important For a lot of reasons which we don't have time for today. It's not a purpose for today But you want to have long-term continuity where you can because of values because of seeing vision the same way Being able to you know build an organization that represents what we're looking for and the truth of the matter is the the great Coaches who coach for a long time whether it be coach Belichick 24 years or Coach Tomlin 17 years or I don't have me a Shawn McVeigh's been in LA. How many years now seven eight seven eight years Kyle's been I mean so, you know, they it can't be done I mean it definitely can't be done and I and I look at the successes that I look at in my opinion And I would say fans would say the same thing with coach Smith and coach Quinn They were very successful runs over a very long period of time Winning games at rates that we've never had in the history of the franchise I mean we've never had a back-to-back winning season when I bought the team in 2001 and Commissioner Tagliabu Told me at that time at the closing That by the way this franchise you bought has never had back-to-back winning seasons I said to Paul You know and Paul was the brightest guy in the room. He never would say it, but he was the brightest guy I said, well, that can't be right Went back and I check and I said, you know, I mean it's probably before the internet was even available I said he is right, but you know coach Smith five winning seasons in a row You know the coach Quinn second coach to get us to the Super Bowl. I mean though we've had a lot of success With coaches that have lasted longer than three years so So I think that's available out there it's doable out there I think that we can Have the same kind of success and achieve that At that level and higher as we go forward to We'll have a ton of good candidates. It's a great It's a great city The building is great, but that's really not what the issue is. I think they'll love the roster They'll love where we are in terms of transitioning Rich I mean you cannot downplay the importance of what we had to go through in terms of salary Cap situation everything went through Salary cap pressure because of coven the revenue went down because of coven our our our cap went down but you know because of our Rolling the dice and being committed to this veteran population we had on our roster And it was it wasn't one person. It was a group organization that was making those commitments at some point We just had to stop pushing that ball down the field And you just say we need to go through a read readdress and a reset and we did it You know you can nuance it at any position any way you want to but essentially we had to do that as every franchise does in the NFL and So we were I think we've made a lot of progress and today we're in a cap situation where we I don't know exactly what the numbers of people will have a serious amount of cap money left This year will be active again a free agency again this year. So You know, I I think we're in One of the best positions we've been in for a very long period of time as a as a franchise You know, we now have to pick a new a new CEO for our football team our new head coach and and we'll do that And we'll do it responsibly Arthur On a uh, maybe more of a personal level haven't Watched you today. You got the jogging New Orleans for that press conference initially 22 years ago And haven't sat through Seven eight of these over the years um Is it safe to say that this season Is has disappointed close to as you've ever been With a football team and that helped push this decision given The excitement of the fan base 14 15 weeks ago and how quickly it went away Given all the excitement and hype around this season on a personal level Is this is disappointed as you've ever been with watching each week play out a game to game? I mean, I can reflect back, you know to a time that a specific point in time when I was a little little more disappointed than this season, but And I don't want to bring that up again But um, then you all can probably guess what that that might that might be but but I would say this, uh We definitely underachieved this year. Um, I think coach Smith would say that I think richwoods can say whatever he would say he's, you know extraordinarily articulate But I I definitely think that we definitely underachieved this year by a lot And I was very clear from my standpoint at the beginning of the year It wasn't about, you know getting to the playoffs. It wasn't about I mean Obviously that's our goal and then the compete and be you know be in the tournament the next tournament the one That's going on next weekend, you know, et cetera But it was more about, you know, it's getting to the next level winning more games Etc and playing at a competitive level that we didn't come close to this year with the kind of consistency That I think that our roster really should have given us the ability to do so I was Significantly disappointed and that you know, it's one of the reasons that we're here today These press conferences Meetings if you will they're always painful. They're always difficult. I mean, I've I've hired five coaches during my during my 21 years and uh, um, you know, it's it's uh You know three out of the five, I would say occasions that um, I was personally, you know, really very disappointed And rich the fans just elaborating How aware were you of because we've been doing this a long time how angry your fan base had become with how this season The the lead up to it and how much do you listen to the fan base? Especially over the last six weeks as you started to lose games, um That frankly most most folks thought was unacceptable. How much do you hear that noise? You hear it, right? You hear it, um, whether you're gonna read it or whether you're gonna hear it on the radio or whether you're gonna do I've done this thing now the last couple years where I in the third quarter I go and sit on the bridges and just talk to the people and you could definitely Hear it and feel it. Um That isn't you know that that is Information but that isn't what motivates you to do it because if you know that It's going to get better and here's why and you and you and you really believe it Then you've got to be strong enough and have the patience to stay But when you when you hear it, you also know that there's a tremendous amount of pressure It's going to come at that point in time and it's going to come to everybody in that building And uh, and that is not a good thing because that creates a very tense Atmosphere that all of a sudden, you know, there's a loss here a loss there And everybody is it's the end of the world You can feel that coming you could feel it coming But I would say the one thing about the and I want to go back to what Arthur said at the start Because I know you probably don't think this But like our fan base and what's going on here the last couple years is crazy. I mean First of all, we we've created a home field advantage when we first opened Mercedes Benz stadium We didn't have it Secondly, coach Smith leaned into it And our you know, we finished number one in the nfl and the voice of the fan last year We've never really been in the top 20 We were number one this year. We might not be we might end up number two And that's because the environment they've created mean our fans. So At home it's been pretty good There's been disappointments, but pretty but but our overall not as good But I say do we hear the fan base? Of course you hear So I wanted just the two comments just want to reinforce what rich is saying and because it's really important I don't think and this goes back to the question that you asked earlier I don't think our fans Have lost faith in our franchise and our ability To be successful at the very highest level And I say that not because I have you know personal bias because I feel that way but I look at how the fans are in the building over the last two years That the results that rich is talking about that's done by the national football league independently That's not my personal opinion. Here's a personal opinion. Tim's Alaska's personal opinion You know greg beals anybody else deep mar. It's it's that's that's based on independently them coming in NFL studies every single game of the national football league over the entire course of the regular season So independently they're coming back to saying the last two years you're building with your fans in it Have been you know either number one basically number one or number two Basically number one in the national football league So do our fans believe in the experience? Do they believe in our franchise that they believe in our capability produced at the highest level? My answer is yes. They do they have not given up hope. Uh, they're angry. They're frustrated. I'm angry. I'm frustrated But I absolutely have faith and confidence in our ability to continue to to not only dream but to fulfill at the at the next highest level So I uh, you know, I love our fans, but I appreciate them and the results as you see them in the building Uh, it's incredible that their energy that they're bringing to the team now and uh And and and we've earned that and we'll continue to earn that and we'll make sure that they feel that that passion exists on our part Yeah, just help help us understand something organizationally. Um, as far as you know, the way things are structured You told us a couple years ago I think it was that Richard you were not involved in the day-to-day operations of football anymore And then you just said a moment ago that the gm and the head coach Report to you. So what sense does it make that you would have the gm and the head coach report to somebody? About day-to-day operations who's not involved in day-to-day operations I mean that kind of feels like me reporting to my ex-mother-in-law in texas about the status of my children Like it doesn't seem to make sense that You would not be involved in day-to-day operations yet have day-to-day people report to you on what's going on So, uh, you don't have a different view on that by the way. Um, I'm not a fan of hers So I'd say to you this way, um the um The day-to-day operation of the of the football team is run by the head coach when it comes to all the coaching and all the players and everything he does and by the general manager when it comes to all of the um Players player selection and all that right they both report to me We meet at least probably maybe twice a week We kind of go through everything that's going on in the building. We probably text call talk every other day My from my experience as a general manager my job is to give them the support It's not to give them the ideas right that's their job And and and you want them to be successful? They don't need hearing my voice Saying I think we should do x or y that that makes no sense to me So what I try to do is make sure that we set up You know all the procedures and all everything we can to make sure that we have the processes in place To try to get the best decisions From the two decision makers and everybody that works for them because to arthur's point These are not small organizations anymore They're sitting like when I got in the league and there were 12 people that worked in the whole building This is a way different operation today And uh, so that that's how I operate There are some in our league that don't Have a person at myla they there is not they don't exist They just report to the owner and they meet once a month or they send them an email or they do whatever We do do it differently than that I think most are kind of going towards our method which is having somebody there to give them support in the resources Beyond just the owner based on where the owner is in in his career his or her career So that's just kind of the way we set it up It um I I talked to arthur And terry, you know, I don't know 25 times a week But do I sit there and go to draft meetings? No, I don't go to that's not my place That's their place. They're in charge of the draft. Well rich is being You know, it's just who he is He's being a little bit um a little bit humble Um So I I think in in fairness, um, I think everything you said is accurate. However, um You know, he has a rich history um as a general manager working with many coaches tamper here in alana certainly at the nfl level on the nfl Competition committee, which he's chairs now for 26 27 years have been on for probably 30 years his work with Virtually every coach a general manager that you can name or think of So he brings a lot of knowledge and a lot of wisdom So I I I want to be clear. I think both coach smith And terry will consult with rich to get his wisdom Not necessarily initially to push something or start something, but you know, we're thinking about this I mean, I mean, what do you think etc? That's clearly not my role. I mean, I don't you know, I don't pick players I don't cross that line. That's not my job. I have lots of other jobs Um beyond just you know, the alana falcons other things as well, but even within the context of the alana falcons That's not my responsibility So rich brings a lot of wisdom That they will lean into appropriately on occasion Uh, and that's what they should do and rich should be able to share that with them and I expect him to share that with them Um, but he should not be the initiator of everything. That's their job primarily But you know what if he has a great idea, you know, we're interested in it If we have an ea in the building was a great idea. We're interested in hearing from he or she Truly, uh, you know, great ideas come from from lots of places every floor every wall, etc. So, uh We we we want to hear good ideas wherever they come from Oh, yeah, I would say the answer is yes input is Yes, I would say I do and I and I'm not bashful never had a bashful about giving my opinion But i'm not going to demand my opinion because that that's why they're hired And you know, so i'm not going to sit in a draft meeting They are going to at the end of the their draft meetings when they set their board They're going to bring arthur and ian and say this is our vision. This is what we think of the draft This is what we think we should do And we listen to it ask the questions and then the plan is set so And if we've got a question about it, I'm I'm going to ask the question But i'm going to let them make the decision. I mean the idea of the questions is to understand the strategy To probe we're necessary to make sure it's solid to make sure that we understand it so we can communicated between our own ears And to other people that we're connected with as well But also particularly in the case of rich to share with them Well, I've you know seen this movie many times and this is the way this may end Think about this as an option or understand this this may end up taking place Are we ready for that? You know, so that's his job And he does it extraordinarily well and we're blessed to have somebody with his credentials background and And his collaboration ability To work with, you know, all the folks in our building to bring us the kind of success that we have had Not of late I get it That's why we're here In the of late, I think Brent to your point. I do want to say that listen when we Played in the Super Bowl didn't win the Super Bowl We went back the next year and went to the playoffs and really that was my worst time Yeah, in case in case stake you couldn't figure that out You couldn't figure that out. I give you I give up But when you look at this let's just look at what happened, right? So I mean Because I've I've relived this enough times. Um When that happened the next year we went to the playoffs and I thought Dan Quinn had his best year coaching That was a very difficult season Um to come back from But then we you know, we continued to lean in to that team and as you lean into that team You know, you're you're you're taking salary cast salary cap risk And as we took that risk we didn't get the results And then for for different reasons But as that happened we were legitimately getting ourselves a little bit of deeper hole So the one thing I would say Is to Arthur Smith into terry is when they came on board Given what had just happened with covet and given what had happened in 18 and 19 There was there were they had serious challenges So I can't give them enough credit and we all sat in the room and talked about it But they had a plan of you know, this is how we're going to do it in year one This is how we're going to do it in year two and then this is who we're going to be in year three And so there, you know I remember in in the press conference for hiring. Um, and I think we were virtual When we hired Arthur Smith The question was asked by someone who recently retired Is this a rebuild and we said very clearly no Well, that was because it you don't want to say it's a rebuild because you want to win and you're trying to win But there was a lot of rebuilding going on for for Arthur and terry Okay, yeah going back to quarterback talk just Do you feel like lacking in An answer at the position here is going to negatively affect you competing for some of the top Top candidates and how important is that position going to be in the interview process? Well, I I you know, I mean Anybody in this room can answer that question Honestly and would probably give you the same answer that I would give you or that rich mckay would give you or that Anybody in our organization would give you or our fans would give you Having the right quarterback and the NFL is a really big deal It doesn't mean you have to have necessarily the top two or three or four or five You'd like to be in that in that position But you know You want to have a quarterback who's going to be Certainly top half top quartile of the league and Somebody who's going to give you a chance to win and you know, rich can give you the numbers Better than I can but you know being able to score points in this league is important You got to be able to defend too, but being able to score points in this league is is really important So I think that in my opinion I would say you have certain situations around the NFL and I'm using A little bit speaking a little better school, but you look at the young man who's in san diego I mean he's a you know, he's in la la. I'm sorry You know, I just showed my age. I forgot they moved to la. So um, but you know, they have a fine quarterback So you could say well, that's an advantage on the other hand. I could easily make the argument that you've got a Pretty rich quarterback potentially rich quarterback draft this year Um, there probably be some quarterbacks are maybe available in free agency or by trade and et cetera as well So I think to a new head coach. I think that's an opportunity it's an opportunity to uh, you know, kind of pick their own partner if you will their own spouse if you will and uh, You know who they can grow with who they can select or however we acquire them Wherever we acquire their rights draft free agency, whatever it may be Um, so I I think in many ways and they look at the foundation that's built here and the roster that's built here On the offensive side of Ball, I mean you look at an offensive line that year before last was the third highest in rushing in the national football league Which is not one game. It's over a course of a season and this year Down a little bit from that but still very competitive running the ball And you look at the quality of the draft picks we've had on the offensive side in the last three years Um and an offensive line that is extraordinarily well coached and well prepared and plays hard every week with virtually You know, almost no injuries So I I think to You know the right kind of coach. I think it's an opportunity that I this is A big part of what we got a pick going forward But you know, I'd rather pick my own spouse and have somebody else pick them for me So the way we'll do the process acts good He asked the question of as we were and requested interviews of anybody The way we've done it before is we've not told you And we'll do it again this time We're not gonna announce when we're requested interviews because they do take a little while to get scheduled You never know we will tell you as soon as we've interviewed somebody We'll tell you that night. We'll tell you that next morning, whatever it may be That's what we did last time and I kind of like that process Doesn't mean you won't get it before then because of the agents. That's just the way it goes, but That that would be our plan Okay Yeah Yeah, you you guys have talked a lot about improvement you've talked a lot about what maybe arthur smith Wasn't able to get done. What improvement would you have need to needed to see For him to still be here today? He don't think that's been really answered at all No, I I don't think I mean I I think that um You know, maybe goes back to the question that steak asked earlier I'm speaking for myself rich can answer himself and terry might give you his own version of the answer, but I don't think it's any one factor There are a lot of things that come into play and do you feel at the end of the day After watching this movie unfold or You know play unfold Do you really feel like this is the best place for us to be To take our franchise to the next level and for many reasons for me Wasn't one reason. There are many reasons for me That I felt we should move on Um You know Beyond the personal side of it just from you know, which is makes it extraordinarily difficult and you know, god willing will always be that way That will never take these things lightly Because of the impact on human beings but professionally There were just a number of factors that went into it and the um The fact we ended up where we did after we Had a schedule that was really to our favor I think generally we would most people would say we drafted pretty well over three years Generally, most people would say that our free agency, particularly this last year has been you know The first year we've really had real cap money to work with was generally would get very high grades Uh, so, you know, maybe the stakes point earlier we The gap between achieving and underachieving was Was much bigger than what I what I anticipated this year um In a variety of ways Rich down to you Michael I have nothing beyond that listen I have a tremendous amount of respect for arthur smith the process of going through the evaluation of whether this was the right thing to do Took a little time and in our mind this this was the right thing to do and it was the time to do it Um, but don't please don't put it on one factor. There's plenty of factors that go into it But I would I want to just repeat and maybe just in closing say this you know Throughout our lives all of us in this room and everybody's listening and watching this, you know personally professionally has to make big decisions in their lives And um, and sometimes you make these decisions you look back and you reflect You know, how do I feel on the other side of the decision? Do I feel better? Do I feel worse? I mean, I would tell you beyond my personal Pain for Coach and his family and all the coaches potentially in their families. It said it will see how that sorts out Um, but I I feel professionally That this was absolutely the right move to make because of my responsibility Our responsibility to our fan base Um, and not only to the players we have today, but the players in the future and um, I'm I'm at peace with it Uh, I'm not at ease with it, but I'm at peace with it and feel That we made the right decision and uh And I'm you know, I'm obviously we're here today to to share that with you Okay, thank you all so much. Appreciate your time today. Thank you