The news about all three of Atlanta’s big searches—for head coach, for general manager, and for the new president of football—is coming in fast and furious just two days after they fired Raheem Morris,
canned Terry Fontenot, and shuffled Rich McKay out of his CEO gig. While Matt Ryan is considered the heavy favorite for the PRESIDENT OF FOOTBALL job (I’m thinking of making it all caps full-time for emphasis), they are bringing in other candidates.
We learned earlier today that 49ers director of scouting and operations Josh Williams was one such candidate, and now Mike Disner is the second. The chief operating officer for the Detroit Lions, Disner has been in the NFL in some capacity since 2005, when he was an intern and then a scout with the Patriots. He’s served as the director of football administration for the Cardinals and vice president of football administration for the Lions, too.
Like Williams, Disner seems like a longshot because Ryan’s involved in the search, but he’s also an interesting candidate. In his current role, the Lions say he “assumes responsibilities across both the football and business management teams, overseeing the organization’s football operations and football administration, as well as leading the Lions’ strategy and revenue teams.” That sounds like a role that bridges multiple functions, which fits with Arthur Blank’s description of the role as overseeing football operations but also working with Greg Beadles on the business side in Atlanta. Disner does not have the same background in the on-field product that, say, Williams would have as a longtime scout or Ryan would have as a legendary player, but he’s a worthwhile candidate.
Even though I expect the Falcons to just hire Ryan, they’re building a good candidate list for this role, which I do appreciate. Let’s see how Disner fares.
