Outside of the Jacksonville Jaguars, there may not be another team in the NFL who squandered a chance at the postseason harder than the Atlanta Falcons. After a 13-8 win over the New York Jets in Week 13, the Falcons had a 6-6 record and a one-game lead over the entire NFC South and a soft schedule the rest of the way. But they dropped four of their last five games, including a loss at the hands of the 2-15 Carolina Panthers to finish the season 7-10. Despite finishing with the 12th-best defense in EPA allowed per play, the Falcons missed the playoffs thanks to their porous offense and putrid quarterback play all season long. That falls on the shoulders of now-former head coach Arthur Smith.

Despite using consecutive top ten picks on offensive skill weapons in tight end Kyle Pitts, wide receiver Drake London, and running back Bijan Robinson, Smith routinely failed to optimize those players' skillsets effectively and was a big reason why the Falcons finished this season 27th in the league in EPA per play on offense.

The Falcons are closer than people may realize to competing. Their defense is legit. They have the weapons and a solid offensive line. But bringing in an actual franchise quarterback and a coach with modern-day NFL offensive philosophies can take the Falcons to the next level. Finding a quarterback is easier said than done, but there are plenty of offensive coordinators that track to be NFL head coaches one day. Two in particular stand out as options the Falcons should pursue.

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Ben Johnson

Good luck going after Ben Johnson, because he will have his pick of the litter for any head coach opening. But the Falcons should make Johnson their number one target. Johnson has served as the Detroit Lions' offensive coordinator since the 2022 season. Since then, the Lions rank seventh in EPA per play on offense behind only the San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, and Miami Dolphins. The Lions also rank fifth in EPA per dropback on offense behind only the 49ers, Bills, Chiefs, and Cowboys.

The Falcons' offense badly needs an infusion of modern NFL passing concepts and philosophies. In this same stretch since Johnson has been the offensive coordinator of the Lions, the Falcons 22nd in the NFL in EPA per play on offense and 20th in EPA per dropback. With the amount of talent the Falcons have on that side of the ball, that is unacceptable. The Falcons have to find a way to improve their offense going forward. The best man for that in this coaching cycle is Ben Johnson.

Bobby Slowik

The next best man to improve Atlanta's offense might be Texans' offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. Slowik actually began his coaching career as a defensive coach before shifting to become an offensive assistant for the San Francisco 49ers in 2019. Slowik eventually was promoted to becoming the 49ers' pass game specialist in 2021 and their pass game coordinator in 2022. When DeMeco Ryans was named the head coach of the Houston Texans last year, he brought Slowik with him from San Francisco and promoted him as their offensive coordinator.

The results have been plentiful for the Texans. The Texans ranked 15th in the NFL in EPA per play on offense and 13th in EPA per dropback this season and that includes the two starts that Case Keenum made for the team this season. CJ Stroud produced one of the best rookie quarterback seasons in NFL history and Slowik helped him get there. The Falcons likely will draft or find a new quarterback this offseason and Slowik has proven he can hit the ground running with a new quarterback. If they can't get Johnson, Slowik would be a fantastic hire as well.