Falcons Urged to Shake Up Organization Amid Kirk Cousins Fiasco

Radio personality Bill Shanks argued that the Atlanta Falcons should consider dismissing general manager Terry Fontenot because of how quarterback Kirk Cousins failed this season.

Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

A body of work from an executive should be able to outweigh one major mistake. But that often isn't the case, particularly in the NFL.

The Atlanta Falcons signed quarterback Kirk Cousins to a 4-year, $180 million contract this past offseason. Just 14 games into that deal, the Falcons have major buyer's remorse.

Head coach Raheem Morris announced Tuesday night that the team is benching Cousins in favor of rookie signal caller Michael Penix Jr.

It's not yet clear who's mostly to blame for the Cousins fiasco. But Georgia sports radio personality Bill Shanks argued Tuesday that if general manager Terry Fontenot was the driving force behind signing Cousins, then he should be fired.

"If Terry Fontenot made the decision -- by himself -- to sign Kirk Cousins, he should be fired," wrote Shanks on X (formerly Twitter).

"Would Arthur Blank fire Fontenot?

"Fontenot banked this season on the quarterback, and it failed. It was a costly mistake."

If Terry Fontenot made the decision - by himself - to sign Kirk Cousins, he should be fired.

Would Arthur Blank fire Fontenot?

Fontenot banked this season on the quarterback, and it failed. It was a costly mistake.

— BillShanks (@BillShanks) December 18, 2024

What it could cost the Falcons is $90 million. That's what they may end up paying Cousins for only 14 starts.

The decision to sign the 36-year-old quarterback to that contract is a fireable offense on paper. But realistically, it likely wasn't only Fontenot's decision. NFL teams typically don't sign quarterbacks to major deals without at least approval from ownership and the head coach.

It's possible that Falcons owner Arthur Blank even pushed for the Cousins signing. Blank is 82 years old and still hunting for his first Super Bowl. In March, did he really care about how much the Falcons were going to have to owe Cousins if the deal didn't work out?

More than likely, it was worth the risk to Blank given his age.

That's pure speculation on my part. It's clear, though, that the only way out of the Cousins fiasco for Fontenot, Blank and the rest of the Falcons organization is for Penix to excel.

He will start his first NFL game in Week 16 against the New York Giants on Dec. 22.