Arthur Blank’s decision to ride with Fontenot, Morris will be one to judge him by

Likewise, Blank is aware of the shortcomings of his coach, Raheem Morris, and how last season careened from the top of the NFC South standings and into the dumpster. Overseeing a team that was thought to have the talent necessary to end the franchise’s playoff drought, Morris led the Falcons to a 6-3 start only to lose six of the final eight games and miss the playoff for a seventh consecutive season.

In a group interview Tuesday at the NFL annual meeting, in his first media appearance since the preseason, Blank made clear his displeasure with how the season went.

Memorably, Blank interrupted a question about the season that was prefaced with a mention of the strong start:

“6-3 (record), two-game lead — I got it,” he said.

Blank called the season “very disappointing,” and elaborated like a caller into a sports talk show.

“With that kind of lead in your division, a two-game lead, as well — your record and a two-game lead, and we beat the team that won our division twice,” he said, referring to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. “That’s not the kind of finish you expect.

“Raheem certainly understands I was disappointed,” he continued. “Terry certainly understands I was disappointed. It wasn’t a long conversation, but it was a very clear conversation with both of them.”

It certainly would suggest that Blank’s well of patience has been drawn down.

Still, it wasn’t the conversation many Falcons fans would have wanted for Blank to have with one or both men: “Thank you for your service. Here’s a box to pack up your belongings.”

But he didn’t, and that is one more decision that Blank will be judged by in a stewardship that has been bleak since the last playoff appearance in the 2017 season.

The reason Blank didn’t make changes was a reflection into what he believes about building a consistent winner in the NFL, a perspective backed by the league’s history — a solid partnership between general manager, coach and quarterback. As he reiterated Tuesday, “to have that kind of sustained success, you want to have sustained leadership for as long as it makes sense to do that.”

At least in the way Fontenot and Morris work together, Blank has the sort of close alliance that he believes is necessary.

But the question is, yes, they work together very nicely, but can they actually do their jobs? To borrow Blank’s own words, how long does it make sense to sustain these two particular leaders?

Besides hitting on first-round picks and some of his free-agent signings, there isn’t a wealth of evidence that bolsters confidence in Fontenot.

And while Morris was awarded an A-plus by Falcons players in a report card administered by the NFL players union, how can his first season be judged as anything but a failure to meet its objective?

There is a reason Blank singled out both men to express his disappointment, and it’s not because they happened to be in the office on the day Blank felt like ranting.

(Interestingly, Blank seemed to shield both men of blame for the signing of Cousins, a transaction that has spectacularly blown up, saying, “I think the team had it very well thought out, and it ended up not being that way.”)

All seasons go on Blank’s ledger, but this one is weighted with the added gravity of the franchise now having a potential star quarterback in Michael Penix Jr. If Penix is indeed the real deal, the clock has begun ticking for the Falcons to make the best possible use of him, particularly while he’s playing on a cap-friendly rookie contract.

In an ideal world for the Falcons and their fans, the season would exceed expectations. Penix would build on his promising showing at the end of his rookie season. New defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich would lead a defense with an identity besides “really bad at pressuring the quarterback.”

The Fontenot draft picks who have languished on the bench would develop into productive starters. Morris would make game-day decisions to pocket wins when defeat was at hand.

How much of this feels likely, though?

Blank is well-intentioned and committed. Fontenot and Morris are good people who don’t have the egos of people common in their positions. Their successes would be easy to celebrate. Perhaps it all happens.

But as the Falcons, now in draft mode, push the boulder up their Sisyphean hill, it’s easy to question if it makes sense.