List of All Atlanta Head Coaches, Ranked Best to Worst

Being a fan of the Atlanta Falcons means you’ve lived through a lot of different eras – some magical, some maddening, and a few that probably took years off your life. From the scrappy expansion days in the 1960s to Super Bowl runs and 28–3 heartbreak, the one constant has been change on the sideline.

The franchise has had nearly twenty different head coaches (including interims) since it kicked off in 1966, and each one left a mark – good, bad, or bewildering. This ranking looks at every Atlanta Falcons head coach, from the legends who helped define the team’s identity to the short-term caretakers and the “let’s never do that again” experiments.

How We Ranked Atlanta’s Head Coaches

To rank all Atlanta head coaches from best to worst, we blended hard numbers with context and common sense:

• Win–loss record and winning percentage (regular season and playoffs).
• Playoff success and deep runs, especially Super Bowl appearances.
• Era context – what talent was on the roster and how tough the league was.
• Franchise impact – culture change, stability, and long-term influence.
• Fan and analyst consensus from long-time observers and historical rankings.

Also important: this list focuses on what the coaches did with the Falcons, not their careers elsewhere. And yes, interim coaches are included – if you stood on the sideline with the headset and the stress, you’re in the ranking.

Tier 1: The Franchise-Changing Coaches

1. Mike Smith (2008–2014)

If you’re looking for the most consistently successful Atlanta Falcons coach, Mike Smith is your guy. He took over a franchise reeling from the Michael Vick fallout and the Bobby Petrino fiasco and calmly turned it into a model of regular-season stability. During his seven seasons in Atlanta, Smith posted a 66–46 regular-season record and became the winningest head coach in team history.

With Matt Ryan at quarterback, Smith delivered multiple double-digit-win seasons, back-to-back winning years (a first for the franchise), and regular playoff trips. The knock on him, of course, is the postseason – just one playoff win and some painful exits. But if you judge a coach on dragging a franchise out of chaos and turning it into a perennial contender, Smith sits at the top of the Atlanta coaching mountain.

In short: he didn’t win a Super Bowl, but he gave Falcons fans something they’d rarely had before – sustained hope.

2. Dan Reeves (1997–2003)

You can’t talk about the Falcons’ high points without talking about Dan Reeves and that unforgettable 1998 season. Reeves led Atlanta to a 14–2 record and the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance, knocking off the heavily favored Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game. That alone earns him a permanent shrine in Falcons lore.

The rest of his tenure was more uneven – his overall record in Atlanta was under .500 – but context matters. Reeves helped change expectations around the team and was instrumental in the early stages of developing Michael Vick. His teams were tough, disciplined, and capable of punching above their weight when it mattered most.

Reeves is the classic example of a coach whose peak was so spectacular that it outweighs the overall record. When a fan says “Dirty Bird era,” you know exactly what they’re talking about – and Reeves is right in the middle of it.

3. Dan Quinn (2015–2020)

Dan Quinn is the most complicated figure on this list. On one hand, he led the Falcons to a Super Bowl and coordinated one of the most explosive offenses in NFL history with Matt Ryan and Julio Jones lighting up scoreboards. On the other hand… 28–3.

Quinn’s regular-season record hovered just above .500, and he posted a winning playoff mark, including a dominant run through the 2016 postseason. His teams were fast and fun, especially early on, and for a brief moment it felt like Atlanta was building a long-term powerhouse. However, late-game collapses, defensive regression, and roster misfires eventually caught up with him.

Still, when you add a Super Bowl appearance, multiple playoff wins, and several highly competitive seasons, Quinn belongs near the top. He didn’t rewrite history the way fans hoped, but he got closer than almost anyone.

Tier 2: Solid but Flawed Leaders

4. Leeman Bennett (1977–1982)

Leeman Bennett doesn’t always get mainstream attention, but long-time Falcons fans know he was a big deal. He led the team to some of its earliest real success, including multiple playoff appearances and the famed “Grits Blitz” defensive era. His overall record was slightly above .500, and he helped turn Atlanta from a perennial also-ran into a legitimate postseason threat for the first time.

Bennett’s Falcons didn’t make a deep Super Bowl run, but he established a winning culture and proved that Atlanta could be more than a schedule filler. For a franchise that had spent much of its early life as a punchline, that mattered a lot.

5. Jim Mora Jr. (2004–2006)

Jim Mora Jr. had a brief but memorable run. With Michael Vick at quarterback, Mora’s teams were electric and unpredictable – and rarely boring. In his first season, the Falcons went 11–5 and reached the NFC Championship Game. That alone puts him above many other coaches who barely sniffed January football.

The problem was sustainability. The team regressed over the next two seasons, and off-field comments and frustrations contributed to his exit. Still, his tenure included one of the more exciting stretches in team history, and for a short time it looked like the Vick–Mora pairing might define the franchise for years.

6. Jerry Glanville (1990–1993)

Jerry Glanville brought swagger, black cowboy hats, and a whole lot of personality to the Falcons. His record was below .500 overall, but he did guide the team to the playoffs and even a postseason win. Under Glanville, Atlanta leaned into its identity as a tough, edgy, slightly chaotic outfit.

His teams weren’t consistent, and the defense didn’t always live up to the hype, but Glanville helped inject some much-needed life into the franchise. If this list were ranked strictly by entertainment value, he’d probably be higher.

7. Norm Van Brocklin (1968–1974)

Norm Van Brocklin took over an expansion-era franchise and slowly nudged it toward respectability. His record doesn’t sparkle, but he provided some of the first truly competitive Falcons teams and oversaw the franchise’s first winning season.

Coaching an upstart team in the late 1960s and early 1970s meant dealing with roster limitations, building a fan base, and establishing basic standards. Van Brocklin did enough of that to earn a place in the middle tier – not a legend, but an important bridge from “total expansion chaos” to “real NFL team.”

8. June Jones (1994–1996)

June Jones was a classic “high-ceiling, low-floor” coach. His record in Atlanta was under .500, but he did guide the Falcons to a playoff appearance and helped cultivate a more modern passing attack. His offensive philosophy suited the mid-1990s NFL as the league shifted toward more wide-open styles.

Jones’s Falcons weren’t built to last, and the defense often lagged behind, but his tenure provided a glimpse of what the team could be with the right system and a little more talent.

9. Dan Henning (1983–1986)

Dan Henning’s time in Atlanta was defined by inconsistency. His teams flashed potential but never fully put it together. The win–loss column leans negative, yet he helped transition the franchise through another reshaping period.

Henning lands toward the bottom of the “solid but flawed” group: not an outright disaster, not a clear success, but a coach whose era feels like a bridge more than a destination.

Tier 3: Transitional and Mixed-Bag Eras

10. Raheem Morris (2020, 2024–present)

Raheem Morris has one big asterisk next to his name: his story in Atlanta is still being written. He first stepped in as interim head coach in 2020 and later returned as the full-time head coach starting with the 2024 season. Early on, his Falcons have hovered around the .500 mark, showing flashes of competitiveness mixed with growing pains.

Morris brings a strong defensive background and Super Bowl experience from his time with the Los Angeles Rams. His teams have shown fight, and he inherited a roster in transition with a mix of young talent and veteran question marks. If he stabilizes the defense and gets consistent quarterback play, he could rise in future versions of this ranking.

For now, he sits in the middle: better résumé than the short-term caretakers below him, but not yet enough Atlanta-specific success to crack the top tier.

11. Arthur Smith (2021–2023)

Arthur Smith arrived from Tennessee with a reputation as a creative offensive mind, but his three seasons in Atlanta never quite lived up to the billing. The Falcons hovered in that frustrating “almost there” zone – not terrible, often competitive, but unable to break through to the playoffs.

His offenses showed flashes, and he helped showcase talents like Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson in spurts, but inconsistency at quarterback and some puzzling game-management decisions ultimately led to his firing after the 2023 season. Smith’s tenure feels like a case study in how difficult it is to turn “solid on paper” into “actual wins.”

12. Marion Campbell (1974–1976, 1987–1989)

Marion Campbell is one of the most polarizing figures in Falcons history. As a player and defensive mind, he had plenty of respect, but his time as Atlanta’s head coach was rough. Across two stints, his teams struggled badly in the standings.

Campbell’s defenses flashed toughness, but the overall product never quite came together. He often surfaces on lists of the least successful Falcons coaches by win–loss record, yet his long connection to football and reputation as a teacher keep him out of the absolute basement.

13. Pat Peppler (1976)

Pat Peppler served as an interim head coach while also juggling front-office responsibilities. His time on the sideline was short and largely forgettable from a wins standpoint. However, interim coaches operating in chaotic situations rarely get a fair shot at building something.

Peppler’s legacy is more front-office than sideline, which is why he sits in the lower-middle range here: necessary to mention, not a defining coaching force.

14. Jim Hanifan (1989)

Jim Hanifan’s stint as Falcons head coach was brief and painful in the standings. He took over during a turbulent period and didn’t have long to steer the ship. While he was respected around the league for his offensive-line expertise, his time at the helm in Atlanta doesn’t offer much in the way of positive on-field results.

Hanifan ends up ranked ahead of only the true low points and micro-tenures, largely out of respect for the difficulty of the situation he inherited.

Tier 4: Tough Times and Short Stints

15. Norb Hecker (1966–1968)

Norb Hecker was the Falcons’ first head coach, and his record reflects just how hard expansion life can be. Wins were extremely rare, and the team often looked overmatched. In fairness, he was trying to build a brand-new franchise almost from scratch, with limited talent and resources.

Hecker’s ranking here isn’t a moral judgment – it’s simply a reflection of the results. If you’re grading on starting-from-zero difficulty, he gets more sympathy. If you’re grading on winning games, it’s a rough résumé.

16. Wade Phillips (2003)

Wade Phillips served a tiny cameo as interim head coach after Dan Reeves, posting a very small sample of games. Given the limited time and transitional context, it’s hard to move him much higher. He didn’t have enough runway to reshape the team or build a clear identity.

As with most interim stints, the goal was survival more than reinvention.

17. Bobby Petrino (2007)

Falcons fans probably don’t need a long explanation here. Bobby Petrino’s tenure was short, chaotic, and infamous. He left the team before the season even ended, departing for a college job and leaving behind a locker room full of players who felt blindsided and disrespected.

The on-field results weren’t good, and the off-field optics were even worse. If you’re ranking purely by how much damage a coaching stint did to morale and reputation, Petrino would be battling for last place in almost any franchise’s history.

18. Emmitt Thomas (2007)

Emmitt Thomas is a Hall of Fame-caliber assistant and respected football mind, but his short interim stint as head coach came in the shadow of the Petrino exit. He inherited a near-impossible situation with a demoralized roster and little time to change anything.

His record as head coach in Atlanta was poor, but that says more about the circumstances than the man. Thomas lands at the bottom of this ranking because we’re grading measurable head-coaching results with the Falcons – and there just wasn’t much opportunity for him to build anything lasting.

What This Ranking Says About the Falcons

Looking at the full list of Atlanta head coaches, a pattern emerges: long stretches of instability punctuated by a few bright, transformative eras. Coaches like Mike Smith, Dan Reeves, and Dan Quinn proved that the Falcons can absolutely reach contender status with the right leadership. Others highlight just how fragile that success can be when ownership, front office, and coaching aren’t perfectly aligned.

The franchise’s story is still being written. With newer coaching regimes trying to navigate modern offenses, cap management, and a constantly shifting NFC South, future versions of this ranking may look very different. For now, though, this list captures the journey from the first expansion struggles to Super Bowl sidelines and everything in between.

Fan Experience: What It’s Like to Live Through These Coaching Eras

Rankings are fun, but if you really want to understand Atlanta’s head coaches, you have to think like a fan who sat through all these eras in real time. Imagine being in the Georgia Dome in 1998, watching Dan Reeves’ Falcons stun the Vikings in the NFC title game. The atmosphere was electric, and for a fan base that had absorbed decades of mediocrity, it felt like the football universe was finally tilting Atlanta’s way.

Fast forward to the Mike Smith years. If you talk to long-time fans, many will tell you those seasons were oddly calming. For once, the Falcons weren’t a weekly mystery. You’d enter Sundays expecting competence. Maybe the defense would bend, maybe the offense would stall sometimes, but overall you believed this team could go toe-to-toe with anyone. That sense of stability – year after year of double-digit wins and playoff pushes – is why Smith ranks so high, even without the rings.

Then there’s the Dan Quinn era, which is basically an emotional roller coaster squeezed into a coaching résumé. Fans remember the 2016 offense as one of the most fun things they’ve ever watched. Every drive looked like a scoring opportunity, and the combination of Matt Ryan’s precision and Julio Jones’s dominance made it feel like the Falcons could score from anywhere. And then, of course, came 28–3.

If you were watching that Super Bowl as a Falcons fan, you probably went through all five stages of grief in about an hour and a half. It wasn’t just a loss; it was a seismic emotional event that changed how people viewed the franchise. Fair or not, Quinn’s legacy will always be tied to that collapse, even though he did more winning than most coaches who’ve passed through Atlanta.

Older fans carry different scars. They’ll tell you about Leeman Bennett’s “Grits Blitz” defense, when the Falcons hit people so hard it felt like the whole stadium shook. They’ll talk about Jerry Glanville’s wild persona, Norm Van Brocklin’s gruffness, and the early years when simply being respectable felt like a win. For them, the modern ups and downs are layered on top of a long history of “just wait till next year.”

More recent fans often came of age during the Matt Ryan years, which means they associate the team with playoff races, prime-time games, and heartbreaking near-misses. They’ve experienced Arthur Smith’s frustrating almost-but-not-quite squads and are now watching Raheem Morris try to retool the roster and culture once again. Each new hire represents a familiar cocktail of hope, skepticism, and a little bit of “please, just don’t blow this one.”

That’s really the heart of this list: it’s not just about numbers, it’s about the emotional timeline of being an Atlanta fan. Head coaches aren’t just names in a media guide. They’re the faces you see on the sidelines when your team pulls off the upset of the year or blows a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter. They’re the people whose decisions you argue about at work on Monday and whose legacies get rewritten every few years as new regimes rise and fall.

When you zoom out, you realize that Falcons fans have seen just about every coaching archetype: the steady builder, the fiery motivator, the scheming genius, the disastrous short-timer, and the interim caretaker holding the clipboard while the organization regroups. Ranking them from best to worst is fun, but it’s also a snapshot of how this franchise keeps reinventing itself – trying, over and over, to find the right person to finally turn brief peaks into a lasting dynasty.

Conclusion

From expansion struggles to Super Bowl heartbreak and everything in between, Atlanta’s head coaches tell the story of a franchise that has come tantalizingly close to sustained greatness but hasn’t quite sealed the deal. Coaches like Mike Smith, Dan Reeves, and Dan Quinn proved that the right leader can elevate the Falcons into the NFL’s spotlight. Others serve as reminders of how quickly things can unravel.

As new coaches step into the role and try to carve out their own legacy, this ranking will evolve. For now, it offers a detailed look at the men who have shaped Atlanta football – the good, the bad, and the unforgettable. And if there’s one thing Falcons fans know for sure, it’s this: when the right head coach finally breaks through and brings a Lombardi Trophy to Atlanta, they’ll rocket straight to the top of this list.