The Falcons interviewed Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan and 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks the day after they interviewed Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald.
I’ll start with the candidate I’m least interested in, Callahan. He’s attracting attention because of his work with Joe Burrow in Cincinnati, where he helped develop one of the league’s most prolific offences. Even when Burrow was injured, the Bengals offence did not fall off a cliff with Jake Browning.
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However, it did drop off toward the end of the season. He should be credited in some way for assisting Burrow’s development, which should pique the interest of a Falcons team that has yet to develop a quarterback since Matt Ryan.
He began as a coaching assistant with the Broncos in 2010, but quickly rose up the ranks over the next five years, eventually ending as an offensive assistant before going on to Detroit as the Lions quarterbacks coach. After a brief stint in Las Vegas in the same role, he was hired as the Bengals’ offensive coordinator in 2019.
Though the Bengals offence has been fairly dynamic over the last two seasons, most of that should be attributed to the roster’s skills. Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd, not Callahan, should take the majority of the credit. Obviously, he deserves some, but this appears to be a repeat of the Broncos’ hire of Nathanial Hackett a few years ago.
The Packers offence was successful because of Aaron Rodgers and Matt LaFleur, not because of the offensive coordinator, who did not even call plays. Be mindful of offensive coordinators who do not call the offence.
That is not the case with Steve Wilks. Falcons fans should recognize the current 49ers defensive coordinator. He spent five seasons with the Panthers as a defensive backs coach, assistant head coach, and defensive coordinator from 2012 to 2017.
He was later named as the Cardinals’ head coach in 2018, but only lasted one season in an unwinnable circumstance. The reality is that Wilks was utterly screwed over and would never be the long-term head coach in the desert.
He returned to Carolina in 2022 as the defensive pass game coordinator under Matt Rhule, who was fired with 12 games remaining in the season and was replaced by Wilks.
He’s a respected defensive mind with over 15 years of NFL experience, and as interim, he led the Panthers to a more-than-respectable 6-6 record. It’s not the best record in the league, but Carolina’s roster was lacking in skill.
It wouldn’t be the most enticing hire, but the Falcons could do a lot worse than Steve Wilks.
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