The Detroit Lions can officially exhale.
According to NFL insider Tom Pelissero, former NFL MVP Matt Ryan is returning to the Atlanta Falcons, not as a player, but as the franchise’s new President of Football. Ryan, now 40, will reportedly have final authority over all football decisions and will oversee the searches for Atlanta’s next head coach and general manager, both of whom will report directly to him.
Why does this matter in Detroit? Because just days earlier, Ryan’s name had surfaced in league circles as a potential executive candidate who could have been linked to rising front-office star Mike Disner, a key member of Brad Holmes’ personnel department and one of the most respected cap and contract strategists in the NFL.
With Ryan now locked into a powerful leadership role in Atlanta, any scenario in which he could have lured Disner into a top-tier front office role elsewhere is off the table, at least for now.
For the Lions, that’s welcome news.
Detroit’s front office continuity has been a major pillar of its rise into a Super Bowl contender. Brad Holmes, Dan Campbell, and their trusted inner circle, including Disner, have built one of the league’s most stable and aggressive roster-building operations. Losing a top executive to a newly empowered former MVP with full control in another market would have been a legitimate threat.
Instead, Ryan’s return to the Falcons keeps that possibility contained within the NFC South.
From Detroit’s perspective, it’s one less potential poacher circling one of the NFL’s most coveted front-office minds, and another sign that the Lions’ leadership core remains intact as the franchise pushes deeper into its championship window.