Will Falcons DC Dean Pees Return in 2023?

Second-year defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons, Dean Pees, could be contemplating his third retirement from coaching after the season concludes on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Atlanta Falcons' season is closing as they hold their final practice before Sunday's game versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With the Falcons' playoff hopes gone after their Week 16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, attention has started to turn toward the offseason and what that may bring. 

The coaching staff is a big question each offseason; no, the Falcons will not move on from second-year head coach Arthur Smith. But they could be forced into making a change at defensive coordinator as Dean Pees contemplates retirement. 

"We'll see after the season," Pees told the media on Thursday. "That will be between me and my wife."

Pees, 73, has already retired from coaching twice before. The veteran coordinator last left the coaching world after the 2019 season. Pees, the defensive coordinator, worked with then-offensive coordinator Arthur Smith on the Tennessee Titans. 

When Smith got the head coaching job in Atlanta, he lured Pees out of retirement to work with him again. 

Pees was a part of a scary incident before the Falcons' Week 15 game versus the New Orleans Saints. During warmups, the Falcons' coach collided with a Saints player fielding punts. The collision saw Pees carted off the field on a stretcher just 45 minutes before kickoff. 

Luckily, everything turned out to be alright, as Pees was released from the hospital after the game began and returned to the team without any further incident. 

Despite ranking near the bottom of the league in scoring defense, 23rd at 23.1 points per game, the Falcons' defense has shown strides of improvement. 

The Falcons will host the Buccaneers on Sunday at 1 p.m., in what could be Pees' final game as the defensive coordinator.

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