Falcons catch the big fish?

Bill Parcells, the former head coach who is certainly headed to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, tells the New York Daily News that he is on the verge of accepting a job with the Atlanta Falcons as the director of football operations.

“I’m going to oversee the football operation,” Parcells told the paper. “I’m going to hire a general manager if the deal is finalized in Atlanta. We are going to hire a coach and talk to all the coaches who are there. It’s going to be a collective effort. The triangle is going to be the GM, the coach and Bill Parcells.”

Notice one significant name missing from that equation: Arthur Blank.

Does Blank finally “get it”?

Last week, I wrote that the Falcons will continue to struggle so long as Blank thinks he can run the football operation. Running an NFL franchise is not the equivalent of running Home Depot. And remember that Bobby Petrino complained about Blank’s interference. It’s obvious that Blank must follow the lead of Ted Turner when he owned the Braves: Hire someone who knows football to run things, then show up to accept the applause and the trophies. But leave the team to someone who knows what the hell he’s doing.

Parcells is that guy. And if he can handle Jerry Jones in Dallas, he can certainly handle Arthur Blank.

So the Big Tuna is coming to Atlanta. Maybe Bobby Petrino did us all a big favor, after all.