With Matt Ryan in place as president of football, the Falcons are searching for their new general manager.
Tori McElhaney
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. The Atlanta Falcons are in search of a new general manager after parting ways with Terry Fontenot following the 2025 season. A new-look leadership groupincluding Falcons President of Football Matt Ryanis leading the hunt to find his successor with the assistance of ZRG Partners and Sportsology Group.
"We're looking for people that work well together," Ryan said of the searchat his introductory press conference. "And that doesn't mean best friends. You've got to have a professional and really strong working relationship. And sometimes that comes with seeing things a little bit differently. But the best of the best find ways to get to common ground.
"As we go through both of these searches, both the head coach and the GM, as we're going along that lane at the same time, that's what we're looking for. We're looking to find two people that we feel like are excellent in their role and what they're asked to do but also can provide a really strong working relationship together."
On Jan. 17, the Falconshired Kevin Stefanskias their new head coach. With the two-time coach of the year in the building, Atlanta turns its attention fully to the search for a general manager.
The Falcons will announce these interviews after they are completed with each candidate. We'll provide those updates here, along with relevant information and background about each candidate.
The NFL has specific rules for how and when teams can conduct these interviews.They are outlined here.
The Falcons have officially completed an interview with Andy Weidl for general manager.
Interview date:Thursday, Jan. 22
Current role:Assistant general manager for the Pittsburgh Steelers
Resume highlights:
- Weidl has been the assistant general manager to Steelers GM Omar Khan since 2022 and has played a big role in helping the Steelers overhaul their offensive line.
- Prior to joining the Steelers, Weidl spent six seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. He started as the assistant director of player personnel in 2016 and became the director of player personnel in 2019. The following year, Weidl became vice president of player personnel, a role he held until joining the Steelers.
- Weidl worked his way through the scouting ranks with the Baltimore Ravens before making the move to the Eagles, covering the West region (2005-08), Northeast region (2009-12), and East region (2013-16).
Why he's a candidate:Weidl's resume is extensive and impressive. He has been part of many playoff-caliber and Super Bowl-bound organizations in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, oftentimes at the height of their success.
Weidl is widely connected and has been part of front offices that assembled teams for head coaches like John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin. The list of front office individuals with whom Weidl has worked is even more extensive. At the top are legendary Ravens General Manager Ozzie Newsome and current Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman. He's worked alongside current general managers Joe Hortiz (Chargers), Eric DeCosta (Ravens) and Mickey Loomis (Saints), as well as a handful of assistant general managers across the league, too.
Weidl was integral in crafting the most recent Super Bowl-winning roster for Philadelphia, having been a top executive for draft classes that included Jalen Hurts (2020), DeVonta Smith (2021), Landon Dickerson (2021), Jordan Davis (2022) and Nakobe Dean (2022).
As stated in the resume highlights section, when Weidl made the move to become the assistant general manager of the Steelers, he was immediately tasked with retooling the team's offensive line. He did so by drafting Broderick Jones, Troy Fautanu, Mason McCormick and Zach Frazier, along with signing Isaac Seumalo in free agency to strengthen the unit.
Overall, Weidl has a long history of finding and evaluating talent to build some of the league's most competitive teams of the last two decades.
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