After losing their first playoff game for the second straight year, the Falcons say they’re beginning their offseason by setting their standards higher than ever.
“Our goal is to win rings, to get championships and eventually win a Super Bowl for this community,” Falcons owner Arthur Blank said. “That’s our goal.”
So how will they go about accomplishing that goal? Falcons G.M. Thomas Dimitroff hinted that there are some significant roster changes in order, and that some high-profile players could be losing their jobs.
“We know that we need to get better in many, many areas,” Dimitroff said. “I don’t care where we drafted them or how we acquired them in free agency.”
One of the problems for the Falcons as they attempt to re-shape the roster is that they’ve already used their first- and fourth-round picks in this year’s draft as part of the trade to acquire Julio Jones in last year’s draft. Jones is a talented receiver who had a solid rookie year, but if he’s anything short of spectacular going forward, that trade is going to look like a mistake. It’s going to be hard for Dimitroff to “get better in many, many areas” when he used up five draft picks to get Jones.
Another question for Falcons head coach Mike Smith is what his staff will look like in 2012. Both of his coordinators, Mike Mularkey and Brian VanGorder, left to take other jobs. Smith declined to offer much information about where he might be heading to find their replacements.
So the Falcons have big holes to fill on the roster and big holes to fill on the coaching staff. And they’re going to need to make the right choices everywhere if they’re going to meet their owner’s goal.