Quote:The Falcons promoted Rich McKay to president and chie executive officer on Thursday, the club announced in a statement.

McKay, who’s also chairman of the NFL’s powerful competition committee, was previously president of the Falcons.

McKay, also an attorney, joined the Falcons in 2003.

“Beyond his day-to-day duties as president of the Falcons, Rich has led a good number of key initiatives for us,” Falcons owner Arthur M. Blank said. “ In addition, he is increasingly enlisted by the league as someone who can be counted on to lend his experience, expertise and dedication to solve problems or generate new ideas.”


Falcons president and CEO Rich McKay and general manager Thomas Dimitroff in a file photo. (D. Orlando Ledbetter/AJC)

McKay manages the Falcons’ business operations and works with general manager Thomas Dimitroff on contract negotiations and salary cap management. In addition, he leads the club’s planning for a new stadium in Atlanta as the team nears the expiration of its lease term at the Georgia Dome.

McKay joined the Falcons in 2003 from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he was general manager for nearly nine seasons.

He began his tenure with the Buccaneers in 1992 as vice president of football administration. Prior to joining the Buccaneers, McKay was an attorney with the Tampa law firm of Hill, Ward, and Henderson, where he was the Buccaneers’ legal counsel for six years.

McKay is highly regarded in the NFL and among followers of professional football. Since 1994, he has co-chaired the NFL’s competition committee and on March 1 this year, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell named McKay chairman of the committee.

For the past six years, McKay has served on the NFL Management Council Working Group, which is comprised of league executives who advise on collective bargaining issues. During the 2011 offseason, he played a pivotal role in negotiating a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement.

“Of all of the club executives, Rich had the most sustained and substantial involvement,” said Jeff Pash, the NFL’s general counsel, in a recent report published by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We had a lot of club people who were involved in many phases of our planning, but Rich had the most direct ongoing involvement in the negotiations.”

McKay earned his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and graduated from Stetson’s College of Law in 1984. He is the son of the late legendary coach John McKay, who won four national championships at the University of Southern California and was the Buccaneers head coach from 1976-84.

(09-02-2011 01:08 AM)DriveHomeSafelyAtlantaWins Wrote:  I don't like this. It opens the door for McKay to meddle in things that Dimitroff should have sole control over. Dimitroff is the football genius who has turned us around. McKay was the mediocre guy who was there before Dimitroff. Tell me again why it makes sense for the mediocre guy to be the boss of the genius?

There needs to be a clear alpha dog, because people are power-hungry, insecure, and competitive. Establish the alpha dog, and a lot of drama goes away. The problem here is, there *is* a clear alpha dog, and it is the wrong dog.

I know a lot of you are going to say that McKay handles the business-side while Dimitroff handles the football side. And that appears to be true. But nothing says it has to stay that way. After all, McKay is the CEO. He is the boss. Dimitroff is merely one of the employees McKay manages.

This is a dysfunctional arrangement, and it is going to bite us in the ass ... it is just a matter of time.

(09-02-2011 10:25 AM)phalcon phil Wrote:  You can't be serious. Please tell me you're joking.