The Atlanta Falcons expect to have their coaching staff complete — or mostly complete — by Tuesday, Jan. 27. We know this because the team has scheduled head coach Kevin Stefanski’s introductory news conference for that day.
That will be 10 days after Stefanski was hired. According to the team, the reason for the delay is Stefanski’s desire to discuss his assistant coaches at that time. Stefanski has already decided to retain Jeff Ulbrich as the defensive coordinator, which leaves two significant moves to be made: offensive coordinator and special teams coordinator.
With all due respect to the special teams coordinator position, we’ll break down the Falcons’ likely options at offensive coordinator, considering that will likely be the most scrutinized hire of Stefanski’s first season in Atlanta. (Former Browns special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone is a possibility for the special teams role. He spent the last three seasons with Stefanski in Cleveland, and the Browns led the NFL in special teams EPA in 2023 and 2024 before a dip this season.)
There’s a clear front-runner for the offensive coordinator job, and we’ll start there.
Tommy Rees
The 33-year-old Rees is expected to get the job, according to Dianna Russini of The Athletic. He spent the last two seasons with the Browns under Stefanski, starting as a passing-game specialist and tight ends coach in 2024 before being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2025. Stefanski, a former offensive coordinator, called plays for the Browns for the bulk of his time there, but he turned the play calling over to Rees midway through last season. (He did the same thing with former offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey in 2024.)
Rees, a former Notre Dame quarterback, spent most of his coaching career in college before joining Stefanski’s staff. He was the offensive coordinator at Alabama in 2023 and at Notre Dame from 2020 to 2022. The Crimson Tide won the SEC Championship in his one season there, but none of his collegiate offenses finished higher than 19th in the nation in scoring.
Brian Callahan
Callahan, 41, has to be considered the second betting favorite for the job. He’s the son of veteran offensive line coach Bill Callahan, who was with Stefanski in Cleveland and was hired to Atlanta’s staff in the same position Tuesday. Brian was the Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive coordinator for four seasons before becoming the Tennessee Titans’ head coach in 2024. He was fired after a 4-19 start to his career. Callahan’s Bengals offenses, quarterbacked by Joe Burrow for the final three seasons, were 19th in the league in scoring (22.37 ppg) and 22nd in offensive EPA.
Mike McDaniel
The 42-year-old McDaniel spent the last four seasons as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins, but he may not be a good fit in Atlanta. Stefanski has shown a desire throughout his career to either call the plays or at least have a (very heavy) hand in the offensive planning. McDaniel, meanwhile, remains a candidate for several head coaching jobs and, if he doesn’t get one of them, will be a highly coveted offensive coordinator candidate. That means he would likely require a healthy salary and, probably, full control of the offense wherever he goes. Still, it’s tempting to think of his run game designs with Bijan Robinson carrying the ball.
Brian Daboll
Daboll, 50, doesn’t have any professional connection to Stefanski, but the former New York Giants head coach was the offensive coordinator for four NFL teams before that. His experience and track record of development with Josh Allen during Allen’s early years in Buffalo could make him a good fit for Michael Penix Jr. as he enters his third professional season.
Antwaan Randle El
The 46-year-old Randle El is our wild-card pick. He is the assistant head coach and wide receivers coach for the Chicago Bears, but he would likely jump at the chance to run an offense, even if he’s not calling plays right out of the gate. Before joining Ben Johnson’s staff in Chicago, Randle El was the wide receivers coach in Detroit under Johnson, who was the offensive coordinator and passing-game coordinator for the Lions.
