After coming out of retirement for a second time in as many years for the 2021 season and taking over the Falcons defensive coordinator position, 73-year-old Dean Pees decided it was time to go hang with the grandkids. He announced his retirement from coaching earlier this month for a third, and presumptively, final time. That means the search has begun for his successor, and the front office already has a list they would like to start checking off.
Sporting a defense that was slightly improved from 2021 but ranked 27th overall this past season and still failed to deliver any real serious impact in terms of a pass rush, the Falcons' front office has already scheduled a handful of interviews in search of a new defensive coordinator.
Falcons running back Cordarrelle Patterson hopped on Twitter Monday afternoon to give his opinion on who he thinks would be the best option to succeed Pees heading into the 2023-2024 season.
Pittsburgh’s Brian Flores and Green Bay’s Jerry Gray are two potential candidates. The Falcons are also looking in the division and have reached out to Carolina defensive coordinator Al Holcomb and New Orleans defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen. Current Falcons linebackers coach Frank Bush, who stepped in when Pees was injured before the Saints game in mid-December, is also a strong internal candidate.
Flores went 24-25 in three season as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019-2021, but was fired despite back-to-back winning seasons. Although he is currently involved in a lawsuit with the NFL regarding discriminatory hiring practices, Flores spent last season with the Steelers as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach. He also spent two years (2008-09) in New England with coach Pees, so there is a level of familiarity with the system that the Falcons have in place defensively.
Nielsen also has an inside track based on his relationship with current Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot from their time together in New Orleans. From 2017-2021, the Saints racked up 232 sacks, which ranked third in the league. The 48 sacks the team registered this season was good enough for fifth in the league so the Nielsen hiring could make sense for a Falcons team that had as many sacks over the past three seasons (68) than the 70 sacks the Philadelphia Eagles tallied through seventeen games this year.
Head coach Arthur Smith coached with Gray in Washington (2007-2008) and Tennessee (2001-13). The 60-year-old Gray is currently the Packers’ defensive backs/passing-game coordinator.
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At his end-of-year presser, head coach Arthur Smith let it be known that the team is going to take its time finding the right coach. Despite the recent developments and the names on the short-list, there are still candidates coaching through the playoffs so don’t expect the Falcons to make a hire right away.