ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons have made a significant change to their coaching staff.
Atlanta has fired defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake and defensive line coach Jay Rodgers, the team announced Saturday. Lake was in his first year with the Falcons after following head coach Raheem Morris from the Los Angeles Rams last spring.
“After a thorough evaluation of the season, and with careful consideration for our team’s future, we deemed these moves necessary,” Morris said in a release. “These decisions are never easy from the human side of things and we wish Jimmy, Jay and their families the best.”
When asked Monday if Lake — and others on his staff — would be returning in 2025, Morris was non-committal.
“We’ll have a couple of days, couple weeks, to evaluate everything,” Morris said. “We have a chance to get back together and really talk about these things and that’s the process that happens now. There’ll never be anything that’s the same in the National Football League, whether it’s players, whether it’s coaches, since I’ve been lucky enough to be in the league.
“That’s just how it is. We’ll do those things now.”
The Falcons’ defense had a tale of two seasons.
Atlanta entered its Week 12 bye ranked No. 18 in takeaways and run defense, No. 25 in total yards and pass defense, No. 26 in scoring and No. 32 — dead last — in sacks.
But after a bye week spent self-scouting, the Falcons’ defense, by in large, turned the corner.
Over the final six games, the Falcons ranked No. 5 in total defense, third in sacks (21), tied for 12th in takeaways (eight) and No. 15 in scoring (24.8 points per game).
For its collective body of work, Atlanta finished the season No. 15 in run defense (120.6 yards allowed per game), No. 22 in pass defense (224.5 yards allowed per game), No. 23 in total defense (345.2 yards allowed per game) and No. 23 in scoring (24.9 points per game).
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