Aside from Tagovailoa adding to the quarterback room and fueling competition, Stefanski has become a tribe of QBs in a way thanks to how their 2025 campaigns ended.
Despite being a two-time NFL Coach of the Year in six seasons at the helm of the Cleveland Browns, Stefanski was fired on the heels of a 5-12 season. He endured a very tough situation, going 45-56 overall while also producing two of the franchise’s three playoff campaigns this century.
Tagovailoa, also with the Miami Dolphins for six years, has likewise seen his share of ups and downs. He initially struggled to find his footing as the No. 5 pick in the 2020 draft, then began to flourish under Mike McDaniel and even led the league in passing yards in 2023 before injuries and inconsistency derailed his final years in South Beach. The Dolphins benched Tagovailoa for the final three games of last season. A few months later, they ate a record $99.2 million in dead money to move on from him.
Now, Stefanski and Tagovailoa both enter their seasons of redemption together in Atlanta.
“There’s something to be said when you’re fired,” Stefanski said. “I can attest to that. You want to prove people wrong. You have a chip on your shoulder. I think where I’m coming into this, where Tua comes into this is, listen, it’s not exactly how you thought it was going to go, but guess what, that’s the reality, and how are we going to respond? I think that’s what he’s made of.
Tagovailoa still has to earn a chance to prove the naysayers wrong, of course. Penix, a 2024 first-teamer who similarly wants to rewrite his narrative after failing to establish himself as the Falcons’ future, has the same clean slate under new management. He will join the quarterback equation once he is fully recovered from a partially torn ACL.
“I’m excited for Mike to get back out there,” Stefanski said. “He’s got the right attitude. He’s in the building every day, all day, rehabbing to get ready to go. I don’t have a timeline on what that looks like or when it’s going to happen, but he’s going to be ready to do his best. He’s focused on what he needs to focus on right now, which is the main thing, which is getting healthy.”
The rivalry ahead will be a storyline throughout the Falcons’ offseason and into training camp, much like the Cleveland Browns were between Joe Flacco, Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel.
Flacco won that battle, but he was eventually traded during the season and all three signal callers had a rough year that led to Stefanski being fired in Cleveland.
Whether it ends up being Tagovailoa, Penix or both under center at different times in 2026 for the Falcons, Stefanski believes he’s bringing an evolved mindset to the equation after what went wrong before.
“Too many to name,” Stefanski said when asked what lessons he learned from his operation. “That’s part of life is learning, tearing your legs off, getting back up, figuring it out. A lot of things you know, you can’t change the past, but I’m looking forward, okay, I’m going to take it with me. There’s things I know I can do better. I’ll start there. I know that. You have to have a growth mindset, but certainly it worked in any first line it worked in any piece. time, I’m going to make sure I do everything that it’s in my power to get this football team where it needs to go.”