The Atlanta Falcons still appear eager to hire Matt Ryan in a high-ranking front office role, but Ryan is reportedly trying not to quit his day job to do it.
In an appearance on Atlanta’s 680 The Fan, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that Ryan would like to maintain his role with CBS in addition to working with the Falcons.
According to Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero), Matt Ryan would like to retain his role with CBS while also working with the Falcons, similar to how Tom Brady balanced both last year. pic.twitter.com/urZqeFgRZm
— 680 The Fan (@680TheFan) January 5, 2026
Tom Brady’s dual role as FOX lead analyst and minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders has opened the door to this sort of thing. Ryan typically works as an analyst on CBS’ “The NFL Today” and thus does not have the same level of access to teams, which might make a dual arrangement more palatable.
On the other hand, there are legitimate questions about whether Ryan can work a full-time job essentially running the Falcons while simultaneously offering even-handed NFL opinions and analysis on a weekly basis. The NFL has faced some criticism for letting Brady do something similar, though all involved consistently argue that there is no issue and Brady does not get any unfair advantages from the setup.
Both the Falcons and CBS would have to be okay with the arrangement as well. Perhaps one or both sides would not be as accommodating toward Ryan as everyone involved has with Brady.
Reports have suggested for a while that Ryan is being eyed to run the Falcons’ football operations. Those rumors only intensified after the organization fired general manager Terry Fontenot in addition to coach Raheem Morris on Sunday.
