- 5 days ago
Atlanta Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski joined The Morning Shift Thursday and broke down minicamp, Kaleb McGary's retirement, how to get both QBs ready when one is recovering from an injury, what the 2026 offense might look like, what he wants in players in the draft, and his interactions with Bijan Robinson.
Stefanski also shares how to make Atlanta's offense more versatile on Sundays, how to set up a strength program, and shares how he's getting his team connected during early minicamp sessions.
Stefanski also shares how to make Atlanta's offense more versatile on Sundays, how to set up a strength program, and shares how he's getting his team connected during early minicamp sessions.
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00:00We've been talking about this guy for the last couple of months, and we're going to go right now to
00:03the Sweet James Accident Attorneys Hotline.
00:05We're going to welcome in Atlanta Falcons head coach, Kevin Stefanski.
00:09Coach, how you doing? We haven't got a chance to catch up with you just yet, man. Appreciate you joining
00:12us.
00:13Of course, yeah. Good morning, guys. Happy to be with you.
00:17I'm curious. We're going to get into a lot of football stuff, and I know.
00:19Look, I know you're laser-focused. You're locked in.
00:23All the other things that go along with starting OTAs and minicamps and all that.
00:26But we're sitting here watching the Masters tee-off, and I'm just curious.
00:31You've got Mr. Blink. You've got Matt Ryan.
00:33You are now a Georgia native, whether or not you like it.
00:37Any chance that you'll make your way down to Augusta?
00:41You know, that's been a bucket list item for me for as long as I can remember watching that.
00:48And there are some great, great, great things that go along with being the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons,
00:53and one of them is the fact that I will be at Augusta at the Masters.
00:58Yes!
00:59Nice!
01:00That's awesome.
01:01With my two boys, I've got a 16-year-old, a 14-year-old, and I'm like,
01:07do you guys realize how lucky you are?
01:09Do you understand how lucky you are to get to go to the Masters?
01:13So I can't wait.
01:14What I'm struggling with, and maybe you guys can help me, is I'm there for one day.
01:19I want to see it all, but I know it's impossible to see it all.
01:23So I'm looking forward to it.
01:24Coach, I'll go ahead and tell you, be there for when the gates open,
01:28because the first thing you want to do is probably need one of those leashes on your boys.
01:33I don't know how old they are.
01:34But you're going to want to hit the gift shop.
01:35You walk right in.
01:36It's going to be right there on your right.
01:37You want to hit that gift shop, because it's going to be packed.
01:40But you want to go ahead, and if they're going to get what they want,
01:43and you're going to get what you want, go ahead and hit it,
01:45and you can get yourself a locker, and you can put your stuff there.
01:48You don't have to carry it.
01:49And then you can go, and you can walk the grounds,
01:52but put your walking shoes on, because it's a terrain.
01:56The most well-manicured piece of property in the world.
01:59So you guys have fun.
02:00I can't wait.
02:02And when it comes to merchandise, of course,
02:05I'm going to take care of myself and the boys.
02:08But my wife, I have strict, strict instructions that she wants some merch.
02:14She's like, I got a stern talking to last night about the things
02:18that I need to make sure I'm on the lookout for her.
02:21Okay, you know what?
02:22Then you might want to do the program where they let you mail it home,
02:24because they will mail it home for you.
02:26That might be what's best for you.
02:28That's a good call.
02:29Good idea.
02:30Coach, Kevin Stefanski joining us here on the morning shift.
02:33Coach, let's talk a little bit about these Atlanta Falcons.
02:35Day one was Tuesday.
02:37You guys have had a couple of days.
02:39We've all seen the video of you doing the team meeting
02:41and kind of establishing an identity.
02:43I want to talk about the players specifically, though.
02:46Who do you think you were most excited to kind of lay eyes on?
02:49You've been around a lot of the guys, and you've met with them,
02:51but who do you think it was yesterday that you were like,
02:54man, I cannot wait to lay eyes on this guy getting in the building?
02:57Man, it's hard, because it's like naming your favorite kid.
03:00But I'll tell you what, the last few months of being up in Flower Branch have been awesome.
03:07And as coaches, I'm thrilled about the staff we've put together.
03:12We've had so much fun putting together systems and talking about how we're going to plan out everything.
03:18But it's not the same when the players aren't there.
03:21It just isn't.
03:22And you walk through the locker room, and it's empty.
03:24And you walk through the cafeteria, and it's sparse in terms of who's in there.
03:30So being able to finally stand in front of our team and talk to them and look them in the
03:39eyes
03:39and talk through what we're getting ready to embark on was special.
03:45Listen, are there guys that I've been watching on tape, and you're rewinding,
03:52and you're rewinding, and you're like, man, this is going to be fun?
03:53Yes, of course.
03:54But it's hard to pick a favorite kid right now for me.
03:58Well, Coach, I saw you talking in the video that the Falcons released at your first team meeting
04:02about how you get to be there early.
04:05What kind of advantages does the extra two weeks in the facility give you?
04:10That's it.
04:11You know, it is a mentality because, listen, I know some people might say,
04:16oh, man, you've got to go back to work early.
04:19We're thrilled about that.
04:20So with a new staff, you get two weeks head start.
04:24And what you want to do is take advantage of that.
04:26And there's a lot of ground to cover right now.
04:31And some of it is simply teaching systems.
04:34And you're limited in phase one, which we're in right now,
04:37and what you can and can't do, meaning we can't be on the field with the players.
04:40We can't be running plays and those type of things.
04:43But you do get to be around your teammates.
04:46And I know guys have already – they went out to dinner the other night.
04:48I'm sure they're going out to dinner on a bunch of these nights.
04:51That is as valuable as anything else we're doing from a programmatic standpoint.
04:56Listen, are the meetings great and the weight room?
04:59All of it's important.
05:01But the more connected you are, the better chance you have on Sundays.
05:05And I think just our guys being around each other, our guys – and there's new faces.
05:09There's new coaches.
05:10There's new players.
05:12Our guys being around each other, I just think that's so invaluable
05:15when you start to talk about putting together a football team.
05:19Coach, when you talk about putting in systems, and obviously you've got two quarterbacks
05:25that are learning a new system, one of which shows coming off an injury.
05:28How much does it affect the absorption of a new offense and a new system
05:33if maybe that – if the said player can't be on – the quarterback can't be on the field
05:38for some of the OTA stuff when you do get on the field and maybe some of mini camp?
05:41Do you think that – does that affect the absorption of a new offense?
05:46I don't think so.
05:47And the reason I say that is so much of what we do – I mean, well, we do a
05:52lot.
05:53But in that meeting room, that's where the crux – the majority of that teaching
05:57is happening in that meeting room, especially until we get on the field.
06:00But even what we'll do when we're on the field, when somebody's getting a rep,
06:06those reps are like gold, right?
06:08But even if you're not getting that rep, even if you're not on the field
06:11for that particular rep, there's so much you can do to learn from that.
06:16Obviously, there's learning by doing, but there's also learning by observing.
06:20There's watching others.
06:21You can – when we get on the field, and even if you're not in – and I'll make this
06:25point
06:25to all of our players when they're not in, you've got to get that mental rep.
06:28You can't let a play go by where you didn't get a piece of that,
06:31even if you're not out there.
06:32So we'll be real creative in terms of how we structure the offseason
06:37to make sure we get –
06:43But the idea for us is making sure that we have an entire offseason
06:47where the guys can get multiple reps whether they're getting that play or not.
06:51We are joined by head coach Kevin Stefanski on the morning shift.
06:55Coach, we did get the news yesterday that Caleb McGeary
06:58is retiring.
06:59When did Caleb kind of start to have these conversations with you guys like,
07:02hey, I might be calling this?
07:04Yeah, it's been something that he's obviously been thinking about
07:08and made us aware of.
07:10And in situations like this, I have the utmost respect for this game
07:16and for Caleb, and these are decisions that each player has to make on their own.
07:21And of course, they talk to their family, and they can talk to their teammates
07:24and talk to us.
07:25But this is a decision that guys make on their own.
07:28And we –
07:31I certainly trust Caleb in this decision, and I wish him nothing but the best.
07:36And as a football team, you know, while you lose a teammate that you think really highly of,
07:42then we need to obviously find ways to move forward.
07:45And that's what Ian, I know, is working hard on it and making sure that we –
07:49as you put this roster together, you have to keep those type of things in mind.
07:52Well, speaking of Caleb McGeary, I want to talk a little bit more in depth
07:55about the offense that you guys are going to roll out with Tommy Reese.
07:58And with the two quarterbacks you have battling, obviously Caleb McGeary,
08:01big wide zone guy.
08:03I've been wide zone here for a number of years.
08:04I think I can probably count on both hands the amount of times last year, Coach,
08:07that you saw a puller in this offense.
08:09Is there anything that you can give us about personnel packages
08:13or gap scheme versus zone scheme when you guys are going through the tape
08:17from last year and understanding the personnel you have,
08:19but also trying to implement what exactly you want to be
08:22and the identity that you want to establish?
08:24Anything more in depth you can give us on how that's coming?
08:28It's a good question.
08:29And I think, honestly, every team is having those discussions right now.
08:34And there's two parts to the answer here.
08:38Number one, it's your personnel.
08:40And until you get through the draft, you don't exactly know your personnel.
08:44You want to get through the draft before you can say, okay, here are our guys
08:47and here's where we feel like the strengths are.
08:50Here's where we feel like we need to mitigate a little bit.
08:52So I'd say part of it is waiting until you're through the draft.
08:56The other piece of this is when it comes to the run game,
09:00and you mentioned wide zone and gap scheme,
09:02I do believe that there's a way to complement what you do best.
09:08And if wide zone is what you do best, there's ways to complement it with other schemes.
09:12I also do believe, though, if you try to be good at everything,
09:15you won't be good at anything.
09:16So I do think there's value in identifying the schemes that you feel like fit your guys best.
09:23When it comes to the run game, I think we're lucky in that we have runners
09:27and we have an offensive line and we certainly have an offensive line coach
09:30where we can lean into different schemes.
09:34Whether that is wide zone, the majority, whether that's gap scheme as a majority,
09:39whether that's a G scheme where you're blocking down the tackle, pulling guards,
09:42those will all be determined based on our roster and where we feel like we are coming out of the
09:48draft.
09:48And then you get through the off-season program, you get through training camp,
09:51and sometimes you say, you know what?
09:53Hey, we thought we were going to be good at this.
09:54I actually think we're best at this.
09:56So those are all things that have to be worked through.
10:00And I think if we're, as coaches, if we're worth our salt,
10:03we're constantly just looking at this thing and what matches our players best.
10:08But I do believe, to reiterate, you can't try to be good at everything.
10:13And I've just been doing this where you try to, hey, we're going to be good at this,
10:16we're going to be good at that.
10:17Man, it's hard because then you don't get really good at any one thing.
10:21Coach, you talk about the off-season training program,
10:23and I think it was one of the first things you said.
10:25I can't remember if it was when you did the interview with Andy and Randy
10:28or if it was at your press conference when you were first introduced,
10:31but you talked about everything starts in the weight room.
10:33And obviously, that's the first thing you can hit,
10:35because you talked about that earlier in the interview.
10:37But who sets that?
10:40Because I look at this, and I think, if I'm not mistaken,
10:43we might have the same strength and condition coaches that we had before.
10:47Do you go with those guys, and they tell you what they do,
10:49and then you tweak it?
10:50Do you come to them and say, you know what, this is what I want our guys doing?
10:54Or do you leave that to your position coaches?
10:56Because it's kind of interesting to me in how you set the training schedule
11:01for the lifting and to get these guys maybe stronger in the weight room.
11:05Yeah, it's a great question.
11:07You know, the strength and conditioning staff that we have do an outstanding job,
11:11and we've been working very closely together the past few months
11:16getting ready for these players.
11:17You know, it's my job and Ian's job and Matt's job
11:20to set the direction of the franchise.
11:22And certainly, when you're talking about the team,
11:24setting the direction of the weight room itself.
11:26So, I'm not an expert in the weight room.
11:29That's not, you know, that's not my area of expertise.
11:32But, it's my job to make sure that what's happening throughout our building
11:38is aligned with what we want to do.
11:39So, to your point, you know, if Tommy Reese came in and said,
11:42hey, we're going to run the wishbone this year,
11:44I'd say, I don't think so, Tommy.
11:46I think we're going to do something different.
11:48So, I've got to set that direction for our offense, for our defense,
11:52for our special teams, for our team.
11:53And that includes the weight room.
11:54I need to set the direction of where we want to take this team,
11:58what I want the program to look like, how I want it to be structured,
12:02while also trusting our coaches to implement that vision.
12:06Let's stay right there for a second.
12:07Coach Kevin Stefanski joining us here on The Morning Shift.
12:10Like, these conversations that you're having with Ian Cunningham and Matt Ryan,
12:14and, you know, all three of you guys have talked about personnel decisions
12:17and scouting and watching film and all of the above.
12:21Like, when Ian Cunningham comes to you,
12:22and let's just take offensive tackle because we've been talking about Caleb McGarry.
12:26Like, Ian Cunningham comes to you and says,
12:27hey, I got this offensive tackle.
12:29You know, what are you looking for?
12:31What do you tell Ian Cunningham you want in an offensive tackle?
12:34Is there any focus on, like, how many bench reps,
12:36or is it simply you turn on the tape and you get after it?
12:40Yeah, that's a good question.
12:42A lot of those discussions happened when we first got together,
12:45way back when, and talked through each position,
12:48things that we feel like are important for our schemes.
12:52And then you get to the draft, and you're continuing, obviously,
12:55through free agency, through the drafts,
12:56you're continuing those type of conversations.
12:58I would tell you, with Ian and Matt, myself, on a decision,
13:01for instance, like you were mentioning with tackle,
13:03you're taking in as much information as you can.
13:05So you're listening to Bill Callahan, you're listening to Tommy Reese.
13:08You want to understand each one of these players in terms of their strengths
13:11and how they might fit what we do.
13:14But with tackles in particular, with every position you have,
13:18these position requirements, hey, we're looking for this length of arm,
13:24or we're looking for this height, this ability to move on a three cone maybe,
13:29so things like that.
13:30That's more the draft prospect.
13:32When it comes to the guys in free agency, you have the tape in the pros.
13:36In college, you have the tape, and the tape ultimately is your resume.
13:40So for all of us, when we're doing our evaluations,
13:42we're focused on what the player looks like on tape.
13:45And then we have healthy discussions.
13:46We don't agree on every player.
13:48If we agreed on every player, I don't think we'd be very good.
13:50I think we need to push each other, and, hey, I see it this way.
13:53And when you have healthy, respectful discussions about players,
13:57then Ian and Matt and our personnel group,
14:00then we can make informed decisions.
14:03But I think that only comes with great discussion with Bill Callahan,
14:07with Tommy Reese, with myself, and adding how we feel like a player fits.
14:12And this came up, I think, yesterday in my press conference in the draft.
14:17As coaches, I think our role in the draft is to give our general manager a vision
14:23of the role and the fit.
14:25Because there's great players, and there's a lot of great players.
14:29You want to have the great player that fits your system, fits what you do.
14:34Sometimes there are schematic misfits.
14:36Doesn't mean they're not a good player for another team,
14:38but maybe it doesn't fit exactly what you're trying to do.
14:41So that's our role, certainly, in the draft process,
14:45is trying to paint a picture for Ian to show him what this guy would look like in our systems.
14:53It sounds like that age-old rule that communication is neat when it comes to this stuff.
14:56Yeah, there it is. Absolutely.
14:57But speaking of great players,
14:59yesterday we did hear from John Robinson,
15:01said he's feeling the best he's felt heading into year four,
15:04which is extremely exciting to hear.
15:06But I mentioned this earlier, that every time Bajon is brought up,
15:09everybody seems to take a beat, take a pause, and then say,
15:12he's special.
15:13How does everyone arrive at that same feeling about Bajon Robinson?
15:18Yeah, that's a good question.
15:19You know, I would...
15:21So when I've watched Bajon,
15:23I obviously didn't study him coming out,
15:27wasn't on our team,
15:28didn't have a ton of carryover games.
15:30So the watching of his tape,
15:33I've done really more as a fan.
15:35I've seen him.
15:36So I didn't have a great understanding of him
15:38until I started doing my research on the Falcons
15:40and certainly the roster.
15:41And he's really the first guy that catches your attention,
15:44which is no surprise.
15:45So all I know,
15:46you know this player on the field,
15:48and you know from the tape,
15:49you know really very little about the person.
15:52Then when I first got out here
15:53and first started talking to everybody,
15:54I remember being in the car heading to my interview,
15:58and we were talking about the roster with the gentleman,
16:01and he's like,
16:02man, wait till you talk to this young man.
16:04Wait till you spend time with him.
16:07And everybody has that same experience
16:09because he's just a genuine human being.
16:11He's wired the right way.
16:15He's a great teammate,
16:17wants to win,
16:18but just the person that he is,
16:20when you first finally meet each other,
16:22when I first finally met Bajon,
16:24it was actually in the locker room.
16:26He was in town,
16:27and we just got to talking,
16:29and you don't talk about football.
16:30You just talk about life.
16:31You talk about where he's from,
16:32his family,
16:33my family,
16:33and you just come away thinking,
16:35all right,
16:35that dude's wired the right way.
16:38And listen,
16:39are there things that I'm so excited about
16:41on the football field with him?
16:43Yes.
16:45But just the person that he is,
16:47to have that type of person in your locker room,
16:49that's the special part.
16:51Coach, last thing,
16:52I know we got to let you go.
16:52I know you're a busy man,
16:53but just wanted to ask real quick,
16:55you have Charlie Warner,
16:57you have Kyle Pitts,
16:58you have Austin Hooper,
16:58the three tight ends.
16:59They all do things differently,
17:02and some better than others at those things.
17:04What's the deployment going to look like
17:06with those three?
17:06Are we going to see them all on the field
17:07in some three tight end sets,
17:09but maybe one of them's not in a tight end position?
17:11What's your thought on how to use those three guys?
17:16Well, you can never have enough tight ends.
17:18You know, and I say that jokingly
17:24just because I've been accused of loving this position,
17:27but I love the position
17:30because of the versatility it brings
17:32to your football team.
17:33And I say that because defensive coordinators,
17:36they want you just to line up in the same formation.
17:39They want, hey, you're in 12 personnel.
17:42We want you to line up in 12-like formations.
17:45As an offense, what we want to do
17:47is make life hard on those defenses.
17:49And part of that, to me,
17:50is how you deploy your players on a given play.
17:53And I think tight ends who have the ability
17:55to line up in wide receiver positions
17:57or have the ability to line up as a fullback,
18:00you know, there's great value
18:02in being versatile on Sundays
18:05because it becomes a moving target for the defense.
18:07So why the tight end position,
18:09I think, is one area where you have the ability
18:12to line guys up in different spots.
18:13And really, it's no different.
18:14You've seen over the years of wide receivers
18:16that can line up at running back
18:17or running backs that can line up
18:18outside at wide receiver-like positions.
18:21It's all in the vein of trying to be difficult
18:24for the defense to defend.
18:26And the guys that we have on this roster,
18:28I'm very excited about
18:29because they can all do different things.
18:31They can all line up in different spots.
18:33They can present different challenges to the defense.
18:36They're all smart.
18:37And that's another big piece of this
18:39because as I'm talking about,
18:40hey, we want to line you up here,
18:41line you up there,
18:41you got to be able to handle that mentally.
18:43And we're very, very lucky
18:44to have guys that can handle it.
18:46Coach, I feel like we could probably talk to you
18:48for another hour,
18:49but we have to let you go.
18:50We appreciate your time, as always.
18:52And hopefully, we get a chance to do it again soon, man.
18:54Enjoy Augusta with the boys.
18:55Yeah.
18:56I would love to do it again.
18:58Great catching up with you guys.
18:59And yeah, I can't wait for Saturday at Augusta.
19:02Good stuff.
19:02Coach Kevin Stefanski.
19:03Man, he's going to have so much fun.
19:05Yeah, dude.
19:05I'm so stoked for him.
19:07I wanted to just talk to him about his day at Augusta.
19:11Like, here's what you need to do.
19:13So I'll try to give a little bit
19:15because it's different.
19:17It's a different day.
19:18I wanted to ask him,
19:19but I didn't want to get off on a tangent,
19:21if his wife was asking for the gnomes
19:22that were in the gift shop.
19:24I know, the one with the umbrella this year,
19:25up and down.
19:26I regret so much.
19:27I do, too.
19:28I do, too.
19:29I do, too.
19:30I should have bought a gnome,
19:31and I regret it, too.
19:32There was like two left on the shelf
19:34when I was there.
19:34There's things that I didn't get
19:36that I'm like,
19:37I should have bought two of those,
19:38should have bought one.
19:39Like, I remember last night,
19:41I'm like,
19:41I don't know where my master's t-shirt is
19:43because I got one of those t-shirts
19:44with like the folding chair.
19:46Yeah.
19:47Like the inner...
19:48Dude, you can...
19:50I'll tell you this story.
19:51We went,
19:52and just like I told him,
19:53we walked right in,
19:54me and my buddy.
19:55I told you off the air
19:56that my buddy took me,
19:58and we both...
19:59I spent probably like $600,
20:00and he spent like $1,200.
20:04Leave,
20:04and he goes,
20:06let me see that hat you got again,
20:07and I showed it to him.
20:09He goes,
20:09yeah, I think I want one of those.
20:11So we went back.
20:12Couldn't find it.
20:13Tried to buy that off of me.
20:14I'm like,
20:14nah, I'm not...
20:15I bought that hat specifically for Amy,
20:17and then he spent another $500 in there.
20:20I don't buy it.
20:21So like,
20:22just the amount of...
20:23You just get lost,
20:24and it's reasonably priced.
20:26Yeah.
20:26What you pay on Facebook
20:28or somewhere else
20:29where people resell it
20:30is way up charge.
20:31I went back-to-back years.
20:33Year one, $2,500.
20:34Year two, $1,600.
20:36Back-to-back years.
20:37It hurt.
20:38Was it Rusty the other day
20:39talking about how you walk in
20:40and an assistant comes over immediately
20:41and is like,
20:42yeah, I'll grab this for you,
20:43grab this for you,
20:43and you lose track.
20:44Yeah, they're all behind the counter.
20:45There's no like try-on period.
20:46It's just like,
20:47you're going to take this
20:47and you're going to buy it.
20:48They give you a bag too.
20:49When you walk in,
20:50you get this big bag,
20:51and it's...
20:52It is very hectic.
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