It was a year ago when dogs began to rip the Falcons apart. Then came the Razorbacks and finally a Tuna, turning the team into a menagerie of misfortune. Michael Vick ended up in prison, Bobby Petrino went to Arkansas and Bill Parcells landed in Miami.
By the time animal-rights picketers left town, the Falcons’ fans had fled, the team had collapsed and the organization had redefined haplessness. And this was already a franchise without consecutive winning seasons in its 42-season history.
Now, the Falcons’ owner, Arthur Blank, is trying to clean up the mess.
Rebuilding would be his thing, considering he is a founder of Home Depot. He has a rookie coach, a first-time general manager and a bundle of draft picks. He also has some unexpected feelings about the possible return to Atlanta of Vick, — who is serving a 23-month prison sentence in Leavenworth, Kan., for his role in a dogfighting operation.
“I have not flatly ruled that out,” Blank said during an interview earlier this month at the owners meetings in Palm Beach, Fla. “Every emotion you could name with Michael, I felt. Betrayal, disappointment, anger, frustration. On the other hand, I do believe in second chances and people having the opportunity to come back. Michael is working hard, going through a rehabilitation process emotionally. Hopefully, he’ll be back in the N.F.L. some day. If he comes back, he will be a great role model and be able to talk to young people about making choices.”
Blank has a reputation, one agent said recently, of preferring the big splash. Bringing Vick back would certainly qualify as a cannonball, although it would also run counter to the philosophy Blank is trying to absorb after last year’s misfortune.
When he began his coaching search after Petrino left 11 months into the job, he received a note and a phone call from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ chairman, Dan Rooney. “Be patient,” Rooney advised.
Petrino had been the hot college coach when Blank hired him quickly. But he proved to be aloof and incapable of adapting to N.F.L. players. After promising Blank he would stay as coach amid rumors that he was on the way out, Petrino left a day later with barely a word to his players and assistants. The team was 3-10.
Soon after, Parcells spurned an offer at the last minute to be the executive in charge of rebuilding the Falcons. He accepted a similar job with the Miami Dolphins.
“Forty-five years in business, and I’ve never been through a year like last year,” Blank said. “It was like torture. Every day got worse. Every day, something else came out. Between what happened with Michael and then the coach leaving, it was a very difficult year for everybody.”
A few days after Christmas, Blank turned to Ernie Accorsi, the former general manager of the Giants who retired after the 2006 season. Accorsi acted as a consultant to Blank for three weeks, identifying a handful of candidates for the general manager’s job.