Firing, Hiring, New Positions for Falcons

Sport & Story Daily January 7, 2026: The Atlanta Falcons made a new position after firing the head coach and general manager.

Author

Kelsey Middleton
January 07, 2026

Firing, Hiring, New Positions for Falcons

January 7, 2026

Falcons overhaul power structure: Arthur Blank seeking new 'president of football'
The Atlanta Falcons fired head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot. Owner Arthur Blank is creating a “president of football” position to which the new general manager and head coach will report. Rich McKay will no longer be the CEO of the Falcons. He will remain with Blank’s larger group of family business. Greg Beadles will be the CEO.
CBS Sports

FanDuel Sports Networks miss rights payments to NBA teams, DAZN deal in serious doubt
Main Street Sports Group, the owner of the FanDuel Sports Networks, missed a rights payment to the MLB’s St. Louis Cardinals. Now, many of the 13 NBA who have deals with the company were not issued their January media rights payments. The NBA teams are sending Main Street a default notice, beginning a 15-day cure period by which they could hypothetically issue payments to avoid breach of their contracts with the teams.
Awful Announcing

NBCUniversal, AWS, Adobe & WPP Execs On Balancing AI Ad Innovation With IP Protection
Senior execs from NBCUniversal, Amazon’s AWS, Adobe and ad agency WPP discussed the tricky balance between embracing AI and safeguarding IP at CES. AI can create a connection between the viewer and the advertiser’s experience. One example would be enabling creative messages to allude to what is happening in a live sporting event.
Yahoo Finance

Comcast spinoff Versant starts trading on Nasdaq in rare media debut
Versant Media Group is the portfolio of cable TV networks and digital assets spun off by Comcast. Versant began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “VSNT,” opening at $45.17 per share. On Monday, the shares had fallen to $40.57 per share, down 13% on the day. Comcast shareholders received one share of Versant stock for every 25 shares of Comcast stock they owned.
CNBC

Unrivaled back with more sponsors, more teams, more influence
Season 2 of Unrivaled opened on Monday. Unrivaled signed 75% of its players to extensions or multiyear contracts this past offseason. The contracts mostly go through 2028. The organization’s pitch was: your money will grow as we grow. Since the inaugural season, there have been two teams added, two more marquee names, a fourth night of games on Turner and an arena naming-rights deal with Sephora.
Sports Business Journal

Steve Phelps Resigns As NASCAR Commissioner
NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps resigned from his position following a 20-year career. He helped the league into the new media age as well as through the COVID pandemic. His time ended with a contentious lawsuit that exposed his texts critical of NASCAR drivers, team owners and his own bosses. The lawsuit culminated with a settlement following eight days of trial testimony.
FOX Sports

James Dolan says Knicks can win NBA Finals as constructed
New York Knicks owner James Dolan said he expects his team to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. He delivered extensive comments on the firing of Tom Thibodeau last summer and stating he doesn’t foresee the Knicks making a big personnel move with the trade deadline one month away. Dolan credited Thibodeau with reviving the Knicks and instilling a program. However, he stands behind his belief that a change is needed in order for the Knicks to take the next step.
ESPN

Milwaukee Brewers release announcement regarding Jackson Chourio, others, stranded in Venezuela
The Milwaukee Brewers are scheduled to begin Spring Training games on Feb. 21. Brewers players and others around baseball are stranded in Venezuela. For a short time, Milwaukee wasn’t able to even contact some of the players, including Jackson Chourio. The team was able to hear from all of their players in Venezuela and confirmed that they are safe.
Wisconsin Sports Heroics

PWHL League Office. Senior Technical Accountant
We’re seeking a Senior Accountant to take ownership of day-to-day accounting operations. You will serve as the key technical accounting function at the PWHL, helping to ensure the accuracy, integrity, and compliance of financial records and reporting. This role is responsible for assisting general ledger operations, leading the financial close processes, and developing and maintaining thorough account reconciliations. Apply Now.

AEG Presents. Media Coordinator
CMN is looking for a Digital Media Coordinator to be a key support to the digital media buyer and the media department. This position requires a wide range of administrative duty knowledge which includes managing media plans, oversight of media budgets, management of media payment processes, managing media settlements, and supporting media purchases. The main goal of the digital media coordinator is to be a direct support to the team throughout media campaigns. Apply Now.

Dallas Cowboys. Coordinator, Corporate Partnerships Marketing.
The Coordinator, Corporate Partnership Marketing acts as the liaison between multiple Partners and/or their agencies and internal departments of the Dallas Cowboys organization. This role is responsible for the execution, strategic plan, and day-to-day oversight of all aspects surrounding detailed Partnership agreements that deliver on partner goals and objectives. The Coordinator, Corporate Partnership Marketing reports to the Director, Corporate Partnerships Marketing. Apply Now. 

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We're tracking perfect brackets for the College Football Playoff
Looking at the data on College Football Playoff brackets, 48.81% of brackets had only one semifinal team correct, with 8.92% blanking on them all. The four teams in the semifinals are No. 1 Indiana, No. 5 Oregon, No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 19 Miami (Fla.). Only .23% of brackets had all four of the semifinal teams correct. Only 5.12% of the brackets had three of those teams correct.
NCAA

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