History
The American Football League awarded a franchise to a group of Atlanta businessmen on June 7, 1965, provided they could get exclusive football rights to the new Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium.
Almost immediately, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle flew to Atlanta to make a preemptive strike. With the help of Governor Carl Sanders and Mayor Ivan Allen, Rozelle found a buyer for an NFL franchise on June 30: Rankin Smith, the 41-year-old CEO of the Life of Georgia Insurance Company, paid $8.5 million, then the largest sum ever for a professional sports franchise.
The new franchise held a contest to name the team. A teacher from Griffin, Georgia, was named the winner. She was one of several to propose "Falcons," but the letter explaining her choice of the name won her the prize. She wrote, "The Falcon is proud and dignified, with great courage and fight. It never drops its prey. It is deadly and has a great sporting tradition."
In 54 days, the Falcons sold 45,000 season tickets, which easily broke the former NFL record for a new franchise of 26,000, set by the Minnesota Vikings in 1961.
The team's first draft choice was center-linebacker Tommy Nobis of the University of Texas, winner of the 1965 Outland Trophy as the nation's outstanding collegiate lineman. Norb Hecker, who had been an assistant under Vince Lombardi with the Green Bay Packers, was the first head coach.
The Falcons played their first regular season game at home on Sept. 11, 1966, losing to the Los Angeles Rams, 19-14. After losing nine games, they got their first victory on Nov. 20, beating the Giants at New York, 27-17. They proceeded to win two of their last four games. The three victories for the season was an NFL record for an expansion team at the time. However, the Falcons didn't have a winning season until 1971, when they went 7-6-1.
Atlanta's best period was the six-year stretch from 1977 through 1982, under Leeman Bennett. In 1977, the Falcons' "Gritz Blitz" defense set an NFL record by giving up just 129 points in 14 games, but they went only 7-7 because of an anemic offense. However, they made the playoffs for the first time in 1978, when they had a 9-7 record. They edged the Philadelphia Eagles, 14-13, in the wildcard round but lost to the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the playoffs.
After finishing 6-10 in 1979, the Falcons rebounded with a 12-4 record and their first division championship in 1980. However, they lost to the Cowboys again in the divisional round of the playoffs on a touchdown pass with a minute to play.
The Falcons dropped to 7-9 in 1981 and Bennett was fired after a 5-4 record in the strike-shortened 1982 season and a loss in the wildcard round.
Atlanta didn't have another winning season until 1991, when Jerry Glanville coached the Falcons to a 10-6 record. Again, they failed to get past the second round of the playoffs. After two losing seasons, Bennett was replaced by June Jones, who made the playoffs with a 9-7 mark in 1995. This time, the Falcons lost in the wildcard round. Jones lasted just one more season before being replaced by Dan Reeves.
Rankin Smith died in 1997 and his son, Taylor, became president. The following season was the Falcons' best ever, as they went 14-2 and won the NFC championship. However, the Denver Broncos beat them, 34-19, in the Super Bowl.
Following what seemed to be the team pattern, Reeves had three straight losing seasons before second-year quarterback Michael Vick led them into the playoffs with a 9-6-1 record in 2002. The Falcons beat the Green Bay Packers in the wildcard round but lost to Philadelphia in the second round.
In February of 2002, the NFL approved the sale of the franchise to Arthur M. Blank for $545 million. Blank, a co-founder and former chairman of Home Depot, bought the 88 percent of the team owned by the Smith family. He immediately announced that his goal was to bring a Super Bowl championship to Atlanta.
The team hit a rocky road in 2003, though, as Vick missed the first 12 games of the season with a broken leg. They went only 2-10, but won three of their final four games with Vick back in the lineup. That was too late for Reeves, though; he was fired with three games to play.
Jim L. Mora, son of the successful NFL coach Jim E. Mora, took over the Falcons in 2004. With Vick leading the offense again, they went 11-5 to win their second division title. After blowing out the St. Louis Rams, 47-17, in a divisional playoff game, they lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC championship game.
True to form, the Falcons slipped to 8-8 and 7-9 the following two seasons, and Mora was replaced by Bobby Petrino, who'd been very successful at the University of Louisville. Petrino had a short, tumultuous tenure. Vick was suspended for the season after pleading guilty to being involved in a dog fighting ring and Petrino quit to become head coach at the University of Arkansas after winning just 10 of 13 games.
Blank then hired Thomas Dimitroff as general manager and Mike Smith, defensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars, was named head coach. With rookie quarterback Matt Ryan leading the offense, the Falcons had an 11-5 record, but lost in the wildcard playoff round. Dimitroff was named NFL executive of the year, Smith won the coach of the year award, and Matt Ryan was chosen by the Associated Press as offensive rookie of the year.
The Falcons were hit by injuries to several key players in 2009 and missed the playoffs with a 9-7 record. It was the first time the team had ever had two consecutive winning seasons. They made it three in a row in 2010, winning the NFC South championship with a 13-3 record, but lost 48-21 to the Green Bay Packers, eventual Super Bowl champions, in the divisional playoffs.