The NFL welcomes its newest Franchise: The Atlanta Falcons!

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Breaking News!
It's official: the Birmingham Stallions owner Marvin Warner has announced that the Stallions have been sold.

Marvin was the original owner of the Stallions, bringing the team into the NFL in 1965 (they began play in 1966). Although the team had its shares of highs and lows, they never found real success until the 1998 season, when they advanced their first, and only, Super Bowl. They were defeated by the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII by a score of 34-19, but it seemed the team had finally joined the elite of the NFL.
However, the team failed to maintain that level of success. While there were two seasons where they were able to make it to the playoffs, there were also 8 losing seasons out of the last 10.

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Rumors began to circulate towards the end of the 2006 season that Marvin was ill, and was interested in selling the team. The league approved the sale of the team in December of 2006; however with the same provision as the Cleveland Browns/Baltimore Ravens deal. The name, logo, records, statistics, etc. of the Stallions would remain with Birmingham; should the NFL relocate a franchise back to Alabama. There was one difference, however; the NFLPA ruled that since the franchise known as the Birmingham Stallions was no longer an active entity, the players contracts had to be bought out (paying out their effective one year salary for 2008) and the players were become free agents. Naturally, the Atlanta Falcons ownership attempted to sue for a reversal; but were unsuccessful. To add salt to the wounds, in order to maintain a competitive balance with regards to the salary cap; the Falcons had to count the salaries paid out against the 2008 cap, amounting to close to $40,000,000 in penalties.

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The 2007 season was a disaster. The Stallions star quarterback, Michael Vick, was sentenced to two years in prison for his role in a dogfighting scandal. The loss of their franchise quarterback forced the team to plug in whoever they could to try to guide them to a respectable finish in this, their lame-duck season. Injuries and defections piled up. It got worse.

Bobby Petrino, in his first year coaching the Stallions, decided the lure of the college ranks was too strong compared the last season in Birmingham, without its franchise QB and the losses piling up. He resigned in December 2007, and Emmitt Thomas stepped in as interim coach - but the season was lost. The Stallions limped to a 4-12 record.

Now, with the draft just a couple months away, and the cupboards literally bare - Falcons ownership was forced to cobble together a hodgepodge coaching staff and prepare for the offseason. This was not how the Falcons envisioned their inaugural year. They were able to convince some of Petrino's staff to remain with the team, but the search was on for a Head Coach - someone who would steer his ship right into this Maelstrom, and come out the other side smiling.

There was a short list of former NFL Head Coaches to be considered:

June Jones - his run and shoot offense had QB Colt Brennan breaking records and the lowly Hawaii Warriors ranked #10 in the nation.

Jim Fassel - former New York Giants HC led the team to the Super Bowl in 2000, although they were defeated by the Baltimore Ravens.

Brian Billick - former HC of the Ravens, who defeated the Giants in the Super Bowl, and was just fired as HC following a 5-11 season.

in addition, there were some new faces out there, hungry for their first HC job:

Kent Austin - fresh off leading his team to a CFL Grey Cup Championship his first season, Kent is locked in a dispute over a new contract and is rumored to be interested in an NFL or College coaching job.

Charlie Weis - the former Patriots Offensive Coordinator and passing mastermind has been coaching the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, but after a dismal 2007, some are wondering if he'd be better off coaching in the NFL, like his counterpart, former Pats DC Romeo Crennel.

Rich Rodriguez - A spread offensive guru, Rich is considering taking a job at Michigan, but has made his intentions known that he would love the chance to bring his high-profile offense to the NFL.

There are other candidates, in-house coach Emmitt Thomas is one, and there are a few others; but at this point, it's all conjecture. With about ten names to consider, the Falcons have plenty to choose from, but precious little time to decide.

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A look at the Stallions helmet and the new Atlanta Falcons one. A longstanding argument between the San Francisco 49ers and the Birmingham Stallions over the choice of uniforms and color combos appears over.

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One last time: A look at the Birmingham Fillies:

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And the new Atlanta Falcons Cheerleaders:

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Who's ready for some FOOTBALL!?!?!?

[Aurabolt127]

(so to recap, I took my expansion team idea - zero roster leading up to the draft. I intend to stick with one pick per round, plus the 5 UDFA, and see what happens. Obviously it'd be easy to take a dozen sleepers - but I won't do that. I haven't worked out my draft board yet, but of course there will be hits and misses - no one hits every pick. If I was set on taking a stud who could be "a steal" later, I'll pick him higher, for example a guy like Calais Campbell, Andre Woodson, Manningham, Stewart, etc - it's more of an extra check/balance imposed on myself to keep things fair and challenging. I'll lean towards whatever the GM wants, and if it's a guy who's just wrong for my system, I'll take a guy of the same position who fits better. No sense taking a 250 pound DE if I decide to run a 3-4, etc. Obviously if I spend a 2nd round pick on a RB, I'm NOT spending my 3rd and 5th on running backs too. Sometimes the GMs are nuts. Spent a lot of time researching players, 2007 season recaps, player and coach bios, my football bible 2008, this message board, the UT San Diego arrest database ::coughcedricbensoncough::, etc etc; to have some fun, dig a little deeper, and keep it real. This is gonna be my big one for quite a while - assuming I don't get fired - so I hope you all enjoy!)

[Gronk4M13]

Definitely following, looks great.

[Mike3207]

I don't think there's anything wrong with having more than 1 pick in each round, but don't go crazy. I had one recent draft where I ended up with 10 3rd round picks from trading down and trading players away.

One thing you might ask yourself-is it realistic that a team wouldn't trade down at all to get more picks if they have a lot of needs? I don't think it is. A team in need would definitely look to stockpile as many picks as possible.

[Aurabolt127]

Good point, I just don't want to overload on rookies - no doubt I'll trade down some - just not going to overdo it. If I end up with a bunch of mid - late rounders, it'll make sense; plus if I let my GM have his way, I'm sure I'll miss as many as I hit - which helps keep it real. We'll see. Working both jobs every day this week - I might not get to do the draft till Saturday! Guess it'll give me time to plan.

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ATLANTA FALCONS HIRE HEAD COACH

After bringing in and interviewing 10 coaches, The Atlanta Falcons are honored and proud to introduce the first head coach in franchise history:

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Rich Rodriguez! The former head coach at West Virginia University has been offered the position just days after it appeared that Charlie Weis and Brian Billick were the only two "true" options that Atlanta had. Rich had recently rebuffed Michigan's overtures, and had come out publicly stating that WVU was where he wanted to be.

This move has caused an armageddon of sorts in West Virginia, with the fans nearly rioting and furious at this perceived betrayal.

Falcons owner Anderson Haskell had this to say, "Rich is an amazing coach. His offense is innovative and exciting. While other coaches with strong pedigrees were considered, the chance to bring in a young, hungry coach with this much fire seemed a no-brainer for the Atlanta Falcons as we make our mark on the NFL."

Atlanta General Manager Don Ross chimed in, "The energy surrounding Rich when he sat down was evident. No one I spoke to showed this much enthusiasm. He hardly blinked when he learned the salary cap limitations, he was excited to work with the coaching staff in place. He knew some were holdovers, some I brought in while we searched for a Head Coach; and there was no complaints. He merely said he'd consider it an interview for the whole coaching staff and was actually glad he didn't have to tie up these scant few weeks before the draft assembling a staff so late in the offseason."

Coach Rodgriguez then took the podium and addressed the media, "Atlanta Falcons. Head Coach. God it feels good to say those words. C'mon, are you excited? Are you as pumped as I am? Expansion team, bottom of the heap, no expectations, no chance, right? Ha! I am telling you there are expectations here. We WILL become dominant. I LOVE the challenge here. I tell you I am ready to face it and I won't run in the middle of a tough season. I know many of you question my decision to leave West Virginia, even though I stated as I turned down the offer from Michigan that I was staying... All I can say is, 'I'm sorry'. I didn't know there would be a chance I'd be offered a Head Coaching position in the N-F-L. I've watched some of my players take the next step, and they all told me, 'Coach - make the next step with us' but I didn't want to come in as a coordinator, or position coach. The offensive style I have, I have to be in control of it. I can't just say, 'here, do this'. I knew there was next to no chance a team would just hire me as a Head Coach - but there obviously was SOME chance. This situation - with the Stallions resigning from active play and the emergence of the Atlanta Falcons - this situation is perfect for me; and I'm glad they think so too. I look forward to working with Don and the rest of the coaching staff to see what we can accomplish together. I'm a fiery guy, I'm a tough, mean, s.o.b. too - so I'm told. So maybe not every coach or every player is going to stay with me and ride this out. I'm ok with it. I want winners. I want people who want to win. I want people who want to learn how to win. Come with me, Atlanta. Let's become CHAMPIONS."

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Rich Rodriguez - 12
chem/pc/st/perf (2)
qb phys/int (2)
SS- AMBITION

trade - (trade down) heavy/aggressive
draft - best available, big school focus
contract - rarely franchise tag, 3 mil cap room, haggle
eval - build through draft, favors upside
playcall - blitz heavy, 4-3 (dc control), man coverage. Spread offense, heavy no huddle, HC control. balanced defining moment.
depth chart - bench media complainer, balanced for rest
injury - aggressive

michigan (west va) spread - it's RR's offense
jim johnson's D - world-famous blitzing from the 4-3

I'll put up positional philosophies when I set them, which should be soon.

In addition - I'm staying true to philosophy, in that I'll focus my workouts, scouting, school scouting towards "local schools" and schools WVU played the last couple years. It would make sense I have more familiarity with the players from those schools, esp since I didn't have the chance to spend all year researching those schools. I'll also lean my draft and FAs towards former players, local players when it makes sense, i.e. the UDFAs.

I am also not signing anyone or trading for anyone until my roster has zero players on it (as dictated by the theme of this franchise - if I do pick up a player via trade, I'll cut him. Once my roster is zero I'll allow myself to sign FAs if I want - but I'll prob wait till after the draft.)