Falcons' Terry Fontenot Entering Final Season of '3 Year Plan'

Terry Fontenot built a vision for the Atlanta Falcons when he got there in 2021, and he's carried it out to plan up until now.

When the Atlanta Falcons hired Terry Fontenot to be the team's general manager in 2021, he developed a three-year plan.

Now, Fontenot is entering his third season, and his full plan has been set into motion.

“It’s really exciting. ... It was a transition the last couple of years and its really challenging because you’re working hard to win games and yet you know you have to clean up the cap and there’s some tough decisions that you have to make," Fontenot said. "We believe we needed to lay the right foundation and establish that winning culture and we believe we have a really competitive football team. We’re excited to be in year three."

Fontenot inherited a team with very little direction. Matt Ryan was getting old, Julio Jones and Deion Jones held heavy contracts and there weren't too many young players worth getting excited about.

Now entering the 2023 season, all of those players are gone and the Falcons had the second-most cap space to spend in free agency. Atlanta used that to sign several veterans to the defense, including Jessie Bates III, Calais Campbell, David Onyemata and Kaden Elliss, all of whom are expected to be big contributors to the defense this season.

In the draft, the Falcons have invested high picks into skill players, starting with tight end Kyle Pitts and continuing with receiver Drake London and running back Bijan Robinson. He also led the front office to take a flier on third-round pick Desmond Ridder, who enters the season capable of taking the starting quarterback job.

With a very different team than the one he had when he arrived, Fontenot has goals to succeed, but there isn't exactly a concrete "goal" that the team is adopting.

"We wouldn't put a floor or a ceiling on what we can be," Fontenot said. "We believe in this team, we believe in our process. Just like it always is, we want to continue to improve and get better."

Even without a set goal, the Falcons enter the season with a good chance to win the NFC South and return to the playoffs for the first time in six years.

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