The Atlanta Falcons are in search of their 20th head coach in franchise history. The organization parted ways with Raheem Morris after the team’s final game of the 2025 season. Falcons leadership began the hunt to find his successor with the assistance of ZRG Partners and Sportsology Group.
The Atlanta Falcons editorial staff will document that process extensively in this Falcons head coach tracker.
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.
We’ve compiled everything you need to know about the Falcons’ search for the organization’s next head coach in one easy location.
MIKE McDANIEL
Interview date: Monday, Jan. 12
Previous role: McDaniel was the Miami Dolphins’ head coach from 2022-25.
Resume highlights:
- At the helm of the Dolphins franchise, McDaniel led Miami to back-to-back playoff appearances in 2022 and 2023. This was the first time in over 20 years the franchise had consecutive postseason berths.
- Prior to taking the Miami head coaching job, McDaniel was the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive coordinator in 2021 after being promoted from run game coordinator following the 2020 season.
- Since joining the league in 2015 as an intern with the Denver Broncos, McDaniel has held positions with the Houston Texans (offensive assistant), Washington Redskins (offensive assistant and wide receivers coach), Cleveland Browns (wide receivers coach), and Atlanta Falcons (offensive assistant).
JOHN HARBAUGH
Interview date: Monday, Jan. 12
Previous role: Harbaugh was the Baltimore Ravens’ head coach for 18 years from 2008-25.
Resume highlights:
- Nearly two decades of coaching experience with one team will lend itself to quite a number of accolades. For Harbaugh and the Ravens, that list is extensive, including 12 playoff appearances, four AFC championship game appearances and one Super Bowl win.
- After the Ravens experienced a playoff drought from 2015-17, they bounced back with the emergence of Lamar Jackson at quarterback. By 2019, the Ravens were back to their winning ways, finishing that season 14-2 and securing the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Harbaugh was named the AP NFL Coach of the Year following that 2019 run.
- Harbaugh got his start in the league as the special teams coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1998-2006. He moved to coach defensive backs in 2007 before making the jump to the Ravens to be their head coach.
KEVIN STEFANSKI
Interview date: Sunday, Jan. 11
Previous role: Stefanski spent six seasons as head coach for the Cleveland Browns from 2020-25.
Resume highlights:
- Under Stefanski’s leadership, the Browns made their first playoff appearance since 2002, with an 11-5 record his first season. That year, he earned AP NFL Coach of the Year honors. He won again in 2023, after he marked another 11-win season and playoff berth for the franchise.
- Prior to his time in Cleveland, Stefanski was a loyal Minnesota Viking. He held various positions with the Vikings, including assistant to the head coach, tight ends coach, running backs coach and quarterbacks coach. When the Vikings went through coaching changes in 2018, Stefanski became the interim offensive coordinator, a position he retained in official capacity in 2019.
ADEN DURDE
Interview date: Saturday, Jan. 10
Current role: Durde has been the defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks since 2024.
Resume highlights:
- Durde joined the Seahawks at the same time as head coach Mike Macdonald in 2024. Immediately, Macdonald and his staff produced a 10-7 record last season and then a 14-3 record this season. Seattle didn’t make the playoffs last year, but the Seahawks recently clinched the NFC West title and No. 1 seed in the conference going into the postseason. It was the franchise’s first division title since 2020 and the first appearance as the top seed since 2014. The team’s 14 wins this season set a new franchise record.
- Durde has been with four NFL teams since 2014 and spent the most time with the Dallas Cowboys during two different stints. He got his start in the league as a coaching intern for the Cowboys in 2014-15 and then returned to Dallas from 2021-23 as the defensive line coach.
- Durde previously coached overseas in the BAFA National Leagues. He was the London Warriors’ defensive coordinator from 2011-16, overlapping a bit with his NFL responsibilities in the later years. Durde is originally from North London, England.
KLINT KUBIAK
Interview date: Saturday, Jan. 10
Current role: Kubiak is the current offensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks.
Resume highlights:
- Since joining the league’s coaching ranks in 2015, Kubiak has spent time with the Minnesota Vikings (quarterbacks coach, offensive coordinator), Denver Broncos (passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach), San Francisco (passing game coordinator) and New Orleans Saints (offensive coordinator).
- He leads one of the hottest offenses in football at the current moment, the Seahawks — a team that most recently clinched a tough NFC West title and No. 1 seed in the conference going into the postseason. It was the franchise’s first division title since 2020 and the first appearance as the top seed since 2014. The team’s 14 wins this season set a new franchise record.
- Offensively, the Seahawks unit finished the regular season third in scoring and tied for seventh in total yardage.
ANTHONY WEAVER
Interview date: Saturday, Jan. 10
Current role: Weaver joined the Miami Dolphins as defensive coordinator in 2024.
Resume highlights:
- Weaver put together a 7-season career as a defensive end in the league after being drafted in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He spent time on the Baltimore Ravens’ vaunted defensive line and with the Houston Texans before retiring and officially picking up coaching responsibilities in 2010.
- His coaching stops include time with the Buffalo Bills and Cleveland Browns as their defensive line coach. In 2021, he returned to Baltimore to be the run game coordinator and defensive line coach before being promoted to assistant head coach/defensive line coach for his final two seasons.
- Since becoming the Dolphins’ defensive coordinator, Weaver has helped the unit allow 22 points per game the last two seasons, which ranks 15th in the league during that time.
