Over the weekend the Atlanta Falcons announced that they’ve hired Michael Bearden as their coaching fellow/offensive assistant, Alex Van Pelt as their quarterbacks coach, Tanner Engstrand as their offensive passing game coordinator, and Tokunbo “Tumbo” Abanikanda as their director of scouting, and earlier today The Morning Shift told you one thing that needs happen for the Falcons to have the best offensive coaching staff in NFL.
“I think it’s really tough to say because of the unprovenness of the play caller. I think that if you were bringing in, lets just say you were in New England’s situation and you brought in like a Josh McDaniels as an offensive play caller like that to me is like number one play caller possibly in the NFL that’s not a head coach, and so I think from that aspect when you say Tommy Rees is going to be calling plays I think you sit there and go okay what is that going to be.” Mike Johnson said
Mike finished his thought by saying “I think it’s definitely a top 10 staff, but I think when you look at Tommy Rees there is still a lot to be proven for me, and this is as an Alabama guy that watched him just a couple of years ago. I still want to see how all of that pans out.”
Rees’ only NFL play calling experience was rom Week 10 on last season when he assumed play-calling duties from Kevin Stefanski when the two were in Cleveland, but with Stefanski going to be heavily involved in creating the offensive game plan from week to week, and Rees having past play callers to lean on and get advice and tips from like Stefanski, Alex Van Pelt, and Tanner Engstrand, this should give Falcons fans some comfortability when it comes to Rees calling plays.
If Rees has success as the Falcons offensive play caller, and gets the Falcons offense to live up to the potential that it has, the Atlanta Falcons offensive coaching staff will be looked at as one of the best if not the best coaching staff in the NFL.