FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons’ search for a replacement for coach Arthur Smith is underway. The Falcons interviewed Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan and San Francisco defensive coordinator Steve Wilks on Saturday, according to the team.
Callahan, 39, has been the Bengals’ offensive coordinator since 2019. He has also been the quarterbacks coach for the Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders and served as an offensive assistant for the Denver Broncos.
His father, Bill Callahan, is a former interim head coach for Washington and former head coach of the Raiders.
Baltimore associate head coach/defensive line Anthony Weaver is set to interview on Sunday.
Wilks, 54, has head-coaching experience. He made his reputation as the Panthers’ defensive coordinator under Ron Rivera. He started his coaching career at Johnson C. Smith (1995-96) and Savannah State (1997-99) after playing at Appalachian State.
Wilks was the 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.
The Falcons interviewed Baltimore defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald on Friday.
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
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