The Atlanta Falcons have named Kevin Stefanski as the 20th head coach in franchise history, hiring the two-time Associated Press NFL Coach of the Year after meetings with team leadership in Atlanta.

Stefanski, 43, replaces Raheem Morris, who was not retained following the 2025 season, and will report to the Falcons’ newly-installed team president of football, Matt Ryan.

“We’re thrilled to land a ‘lead by example’ leader in Kevin Stefanski, who brings a clear vision for his staff, our team and a closely-aligned focus on building this team on fundamentals, toughness and active collaboration with every area of the football operation,” the long-time Atlanta QB explained.

“Coach Stefanski is a team-first leader who puts a premium on accountability for everyone and a player-driven culture. His experience in Cleveland and Minnesota has given him a great understanding of the importance of working in sync with scouting, personnel and the rest of the football staff to maximise talent across the roster and in doing everything possible to put our players in the best position to succeed.”

Stefanski previously served as head coach of the Cleveland Browns after spending 14 seasons on the staff of the Minnesota Vikings. He was named AP Coach of the Year in 2020 after leading Cleveland to an 11–5 record, its first playoff appearance since 2002, and its first postseason win since 1994. He earned the award again three years later after guiding the Browns to an 11–6 finish and another playoff berth.

Cleveland have only made the playoffs three times since returning to the league in 1999, with two of those appearances coming under Stefanski. His teams consistently ranked among the NFL’s strongest rushing offenses, including three top-six finishes in average rushing yards per game, but also became known for extremely good defenses. Stefanski finished his Browns tenure with a 45–56 record.

“I’m beyond thrilled to be charged with leading this iconic franchise,” Stefanski commented via the team. “I am grateful to [team owner Arthur] Blank and Matt Ryan for trusting me to coach this football team and there are many talented players on our roster that I cannot wait to coach. We share a vision for this football team that I believe will make Falcons fans everywhere proud. We will get to work immediately, putting together a first-class coaching staff and working hard to get to know all the great people that are so important to getting us all where we want to go.”

Blank said the organisation’s focus was on long-term competitiveness following an uptick during the 2025 campaign.

“In Kevin Stefanski, we have found a coach with the right vision, focus and demeanour to lead our team into the future,” he said. “From all our research and a wonderful visit with him, I believe he is the right coach to take the talent on our roster to a new level and to work with Matt, our new GM and all our football personnel to build on the strong foundation in place and take it to new heights.”

As Stefanski begins assembling his coaching staff, defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich’s future remains a point of discussion after notable improvement on that side of the ball in 2025. Blank previously praised Ulbrich’s performance during his end-of-season press conference.

“Jeff Ulbrich, in my view, did a really fine job for us this year,” Blank said. “Certainly if you look at the record of sacks, but the overall performance on defense was definitely better than it’s been in the past.”

Under Ulbrich’s leadership, Atlanta’s defense jumped from second-to-last in the NFL in sacks in 2024 to second overall in 2025, setting a franchise single-season record with 57 sacks and getting at least one QB takedown from 14 different players, tied for the most in the league.