The Atlanta Falcons made a few changes to their offensive coaching staff on Thursday, elevating quarterbacks coach T.J. Yates to passing game coordinator and promoting assistant QB coach D.J. Williams to Yates’ former position.
The decision to promote Yates and Williams is warranted after their work with Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. last season. The former first-round pick played extremely well in his first three NFL starts and appears to be the team’s long-term answer at quarterback.
The #Falcons have promoted QB coach TJ Yates to pass game coordinator, per the team. DJ Williams, the former offensive assistant and assistant QB coach, is now the QB coach.
Yates played quarterback for seven years in the NFL and won a playoff game with Houston. Williams was the…
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) February 13, 2025
Penix passed for 775 yards, three touchdowns, three interceptions and a rushing touchdown last season. More than anything, he passed the eye test with flying colors.
The rookie got the ball out quickly, didn’t take many sacks and flashed the impressive arm talent that the team fell in love with during the 2024 offseason.
Atlanta’s offense was explosive under first-year offensive coordinator Zac Robinson. If not for the team’s defensive collapse down the stretch, the Falcons likely would have made the playoffs for the first time since 2017.
The team finished top 10 in both passing yards (fifth) and rushing yards (10th) last season. The Falcons averaged 22.9 points per game, which ranked 13th in the NFL.