INDIANAPOLIS — The Atlanta Falcons were in the midst of their formal interviews with defensive players at the 2026 NFL Combine when Kevin Stefanski heard a pen scratching across a page. It wasn’t his own, which had paused in his hand at the sound.
The Falcons were running through linebacker interviews. Up at the front of the room, defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich and inside linebackers coach Barrett Ruud were running through some coverage looks with a prospect, quizzing his knowledge and understanding what makes him tick. The scratching sound continued, though, drawing Stefanski’s eyes to the source of the sound.
Matt Ryan was furiously scribbling beside him. Looking at Ryan’s creation, Stefanski saw it mimicked his own.
“Matt was doing what I was doing,” Stefanski said, “which was when they were talking about the coverage we were thinking about ways to attack the coverage. So, Matt is scribbling some plays over there, very similar to me. You are listening, but you can’t turn off the Xs and Os brain. It’s just impossible.”
Funny enough, this moment actually brought back another memory.
It was February 2008. Stefanski was one year away from becoming the Minnesota Vikings quarterbacks coach. At that 2008 scouting combine, he was in his final year of being the assistant to head coach Brad Childress. He was in the formal interview room that year as prospect after prospect walked in and interviewed for the Vikings’ No. 15 overall pick, which ended up not being Minnesota’s pick at all as it was traded away that April when the Vikings acquired defensive end Jared Allen.
Still, the Vikings were doing their due diligence at the combine that year, interviewing some of the highest graded individuals of the class.
That’s when a tall quarterback from Boston College walked in.