Falcons Owner Arthur Blank was "vague about the team's hierarchy" under its restructured front office, but did discuss Assistant GM Scott Pioli's expanded role, according to a Q&A with D. Orlando Ledbetter of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. Blank also said that he "was not trying to emulate" Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones, and discussed PSLs at the team's new stadium. Below are excerpts from the interview:
Q: Could you explain the recent restructuring?
Blank: I felt like we had a tremendous untapped resource in the building in Scott Pioli, who has had an incredible history with some remarkable achievements. ... We felt that it was an opportunity to maximize the use of Scott and still have Thomas [Dimitroff] function as the general manager and work closely with Scott ... maintain a responsibility for the draft, free agency and obviously with contracts and the salary cap and all of the other things that a general manager does today, he’ll certainly be involved in those as well.
Q: I know you have no aspirations to be Jerry Jones ... but has it been your objective over the past couple of years, and in particular this offseason, to take on more responsibility or become more involved in the football operations?
Blank: My responsibility, in all of our businesses, but certainly as it relates to the Atlanta Falcons, is to make sure that we hire the very best people. Give them the resources that they need and make sure that the culture is supportive of doing things in the right way.
Q: The PSL announcement has been made. How’s that going? What about some of the displaced fans who'll have to give up their seats because of the economics?
Blank: What we’ve said for several years is that our financing package would include a PSL component and it will not be as comprehensive as you see in a number of stadiums like San Francisco, the Jets, Giants, etc. So, ours will try to be as diverse as it can be. But at the end of the day, the stadium is being designed, both in terms of seating, and in terms of fan amenities and fan experience, to make sure that we have the kind of exposure and experience that invites the right diversity into that stadium and that we continue to have fans to enjoy it from every perspective (AJC.com, 1/30).
TALKING LOUD AND SAYING NOTHING: In Atlanta, Jeff Schultz writes three weeks after "throwing a grenade of a news release and having all principals affected by an organizational restructuring take cover in a bunker," Blank in addressing the changes revealed "almost nothing." Blank was "intentionally non-specific on who ultimately will have final say in picking the players in the draft and free agency and who will be given final approval of the 53-man roster." Answers "may come when the Falcons hold a news conference to announce" expected new coach Dan Quinn. The new structure suggests Quinn "will have that autonomy because, unlike former Falcons coach Mike Smith, Quinn will report directly to Blank, not to Dimitroff." One "can’t know how successful the Falcons will be," but there is "little question this has been a poorly handled situation from a public-relations perspective" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 1/31).
