Consistency in Coaching is just as important as the players’ consistency. The Atlanta Falcons made major changes to their staff this year. Can consistency be created in the offseason to make a difference in 2026?
Coaching Consistency – Atlanta Falcons
The 2026 postseason coaching chaos is going to generate more player inconsistency than in any previous NFL season. It will also wreak havoc on our fantasy seasons, unless…you read these articles and plan ahead. Never in the history of the NFL has there been as many Head Coach and/or Offensive Coordinator changes as there were this offseason. Some of our favorite, consistent players who were last season’s standouts may lose touches to others who were overlooked by their previous coaches. If you know who they are, they’ll be carrying your fantasy teams to championships. In this weekly series of team-by-team articles, Phil Taylor highlights how our favorite players are likely to be affected by the coaching changes.
Atlanta Falcons:
After a disappointing 2025 season, the Falcons made it clear that they believe their window to be a contender is now. They moved on from Raheem Morris, replacing him with Kevin Stefanski. Stefanski quickly chose his former OC from the Browns, 33-year-old Tommy Rees. You may be saying to yourself, “Why would I want to invest in a team coached by the authors of the Browns’ horrific 2025 season?” I get that, but don’t forget that while Stefanski was in Cleveland for six years, he also took them to the playoffs twice, including a divisional-round visit, and they lost to the Chiefs. In his coaching career, he has won two NFL Coach of the Year awards. Tommy Rees, however, does not have a long tenure in the NFL. Keep in mind, though, that he spent 6 years coaching at Notre Dame and Alabama before making the leap to the NFL.
The Falcons have some great weapons who I think will shine in Coach Stefanski’s offense. Remember, Stefanski and Rees together brought us the TE revelation of Harold Fanning Jr. last season. Let’s take a look at this coaching staff’s tendencies and how they will affect each position.
Play-calling tendencies: Kevin Stefanski has typically been a game situation-dependent play caller. More often than not, he likes to go 12 personnel/two tight ends. His pass game leans on the tight ends. His run game isn’t anything exotic. He does use a wide-zone approach, which results in the RB going outside. With his QB’s, he likes play-action bootleg. Stefanski goes conservative when he gets a lead, so as fantasy owners, we should be rooting for a bad Falcons defense to make the offense have to catch up or keep up. I’ll look at the strength of schedule before deciding how hard I should invest in the Falcons. One thing that Stefanski likes is a mobile QB, but not necessarily for QB run plays, but for bootlegs. The QB-designed run play is not a big facet of Stefanski’s offense.
Here’s where it could get interesting: As a head coach, sometimes Stefanski calls the plays. Sometimes, if things aren’t going well, he hands off play-calling to his Offensive Coordinator. In this case, that’s Tommy Rees. In general, I don’t trust an adult who goes by a child’s name. Tommy is not an adult name. Tom or Thomas is an adult name. Tommy Rees needs to grow up. He’s in a big boy job now. His tendencies when he was playcalling as a college offensive coordinator are surprisingly similar to what Stefanski likes to do. He goes run heavy if it’s close or he’s got a lead. He uses all of the receivers fairly equally and leans on the tight ends. Let’s go break down the positions:
The Players To Watch:
QB: The pair of Tua Tagovailoa and Michael Penix is not going to strike fear in the hearts of any defensive coordinators. They both are competent if not exciting QB’s. When Tua was in Miami, his game thrived on hitting the tight end, remember Jonnu Smith with 88 catches, 8 TD’s and almost 900 yards receiving? Hello Kyle Pitts! Also, who did Tua dump it off to a gazillion times? Let’s take Achane’s 2024 receptions and give those to Bijan.
RB’s: It’s wheels up for Bijan. Stefanski and Rees rely on tight ends and running backs to make their offense go. With the departure of soul touchdown stealer Tyler Allgier, I’m taking Bijan first or second in drafts this year.
WR’s: I don’t know why I put wide receivers plural. Drake London is the only WR with a pulse in Atlanta. Sadly, this upcoming season, he will be limited by the play-calling and the tendencies of both Stefanski and Rees. In drafts, I’d drop him into the late second/early third round.
TE: Kyle Pitts had his “breakout” season last year, as I predicted. Guess what? If he stays healthy, he should have an even better season in 2026. Stefanski and Rees love tight ends. The only worry would be if they brought in a second capable TE. If that doesn’t happen, I’ll be pretty happy to get Kyle Pitts in the 6th round this year.
K: Zane Gonzalez is likely to be the Falcons’ kicker this season. In the past, Stefanski has been prone to taking the risk of long field goals. Zane Gonzalez has hit a 68-yard field goal, so don’t be surprised if Stefanik leans on that.
So the long and short of this is that Bijan Robinson and Kyle Pitts are positioned for career years, while Drake London may be disappointing.
