FLOWERY BRANCH – The Falcons have completed five interviews in their search to replace Arthur Smith as the head coach.
Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald was the first candidate interviewed on Friday.
The Falcons interviewed Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan and San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks on Saturday. Panthers defensive coordinator Eijro Evero and Baltimore associate head coach/defensive line Anthony Weaver were interviewed on Sunday.
Here’s a quick look at the candidates:
Mike Macdonald
Macdonald, 36, attended Centennial High in Roswell and went to Georgia. While a student in Athens he was an assistant coach at Cedar Shoals High in 2008 and 2009. He was a grad assistant at Georgia in 2010 and was a defensive quality-control assistant from 2011-13.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Brian Callahan
Callahan, 39, has been the Bengals’ offensive coordinator since 2019 after working as quarterbacks coach for the Lions and Raiders and serving as an offensive assistant for the Broncos. His father, Bill Callahan, is a former interim head coach for Washington and former head coach of the Raiders.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Steve Wilks
Wilks, 54, has head-coaching experience. He made his reputation as the Panthers’ defensive coordinator under former head coach Ron Rivera. He started his coaching career at Johnson C. Smith University (1995-96) and Savannah State (1997-99) after playing at Appalachian State. Wilks was head coach at Savannah State in 1999. He was the Cardinals’ head coach in 2018 and was the Panthers’ interim head coach in 2023 after Matt Rhule was fired.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Ejiro Evero
Ejiro Evero, 43, worked his way up the ranks from defensive quality control positions and has coached with the Bucs, 49ers, Packers, Rams and Broncos. He was the Broncos defensive coordinator in 2022 before landing with the Panthers last season.
Evero’s Denver defense ranked seventh in NFL in total defense, 320 yards per game. The Panthers defense was stingy last season as they finished ranked fourth (293.9).
Former Falcons coach Smith was impressed with how Evero put Brian Burns and Derrick Brown on the same side of the line, which made it impossible to double-team both of the game-wreckers.
Evero held Smith to 204 total yards in the Panthers’ 9-7 win over the Falcons on Dec. 12. It was the Falcons second-lowest output of the season.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Anthony Weaver
Weaver, 43, has previously worked with the Browns, Bills, Texans and Jets. He was the Texans defensive coordinator in 2020. He also was the run-game coordinator/defensive line for the Ravens in 2021.
He played at Notre Dame and seven seasons in the NFL with the Ravens (2002-05) and Texans (2006-08).
There are more interviews to come.
The Falcons have also requested interviews with Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn and Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce.
Johnson, 37, was a walk-on quarterback at North Carolina. He’s been Detroit’s offensive coordinator for the past two seasons. The Lions were ranked third in total offense (394.8 YPG), second in passing (258.9), fifth in rushing (135.9) and fifth in points scored (27.1).
Glenn, 51, played in the NFL from 1994-2008 and was a three-time Pro Bowl cornerback. He is a member of the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame. His defense was ranked 19th in yards allowed (336.1), second against the run (88.8), 27th against the pass (247.4) and 23rd in points allowed (23.2).
Pierce, 45, took over for Josh McDaniels, who was fired Oct. 31. The former NFL linebacker went on to post a 5-4 record. He has also interviewed with the Titans for their head coaching job, while the Raiders finish up their general manager interviews.
Pierce played collegiately at Arizona and was signed as an undrafted player by Washington in 2001. He went on to play nine NFL seasons and won a Super Bowl ring with the 2007 Giants.
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