Falcons Owner Arthur Blank "has started the process" of hiring a CEO to oversee all of his for-profit businesses including the Falcons in a move that "will allow the owner to pull back from day-to-day management responsibilities," according to a front-page piece by Tim Tucker of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. Blank: "My role will be different going forward. It’s a healthy time for somebody else to take the reins in terms of certain responsibilities in our organization." Blank said that the new position "will enable him to align his schedule with 'my own goals at this stage of my life,' which, he said, include spending more time with family and on philanthropic efforts." Blank said that the change "is unrelated to his health, which he said is good, and 'absolutely does not' foreshadow any intention to sell the Falcons or other businesses." But Tucker notes the change "will be a substantial one for Blank’s businesses, which he has guided in a visible, hands-on manner, and for him personally." For the Falcons, the change will mean that team President & CEO Rich McKay, who currently reports to Blank, "instead will report to the new CEO." However, coach Dan Quinn and GM Thomas Dimitroff "will continue to report to Blank." MLS expansion club Atlanta United FC President Darren Eales and PGA Tour Superstore CEO Dick Sullivan, both of whom work for companies owned by Blank, "will report to the CEO." Blank "described the position, which he hopes to fill by the end of the year, as 'a huge job with a big public profile.'" He said that several candidates "have been interviewed for the position," and added that the position "likely will be filled from outside the organization" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 8/27). ESPN.com's Vaughn McClure noted McKay "is in his fourth year as the president and CEO of the Falcons and has been instrumental in the construction" of the $1.4B Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which is set to open in '17. McKay last year signed a four-year contract extension through '19 (ESPN.com, 8/26).
CARTE BLANCHE? In Atlanta, Jeff Schultz writes, "I’m sure Blank, who turns 73 next month, intends to slow down. But he’s just not built that way." It "will be easy enough to take a less active role in two of his for-profit businesses, the PGA Tour Superstore and his guest ranch in Montana (assuming both stay profitable)." But his MLS team is a "relative start-up business, which means Blank will be preoccupied with ticket sales, sponsorships, branding, fan growth and winning." The Falcons are "his lifeblood -- on the field and off, especially with a new stadium on the horizon and PSLs to sell." Schultz: "I don’t see him any less obsessed in the future than he is now." It "will be easier for Blank to lighten his day-to-day obsession of the Falcons’ football operation if the team wins," but "if the struggles continue, there will be no stopping him." With the Falcons’ new home now being built and Blank having a naming-rights deal secure, McKay’s future role in the organization "is uncertain." Schultz: "I wouldn’t be surprised if he steps away" (AJC.com, 8/27).
