ATLANTA – When Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank asked a sports consulting firm to evaluate the franchise he has owned for 23 years, he was surprised to learn there was a “lack of clarity about the vision,” he said Thursday.

That was one of the key findings of Sportsology after conducting one-on-one interviews with more than 30 people who work for the team, Blank said.

“In any business, in any industry, if you don’t have clarity around vision in what you’re trying to establish and trying to build, you end up with a lot of disparate thoughts about moving in different directions, and that means you’re not only unsuccessful … but you can be very inefficient,” Blank said.

That’s a pretty accurate description of these Falcons, who completed their eighth consecutive losing season and fired head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot earlier this week.

Blank’s plan to fix the issue is a restructured organization with the newly created position of president of football at the top. The new position will report to the owner and have the final say on all football matters, Blank said.

“It’s president of football instead of president of football operations because sometimes people could interpret that as being, ‘Well, they’re responsible for the operation stuff, the back-room stuff, the administrative stuff.’ This person we’re trying to hire will be responsible for everything related to football and the grass. Both the general manager and head coach will report directly to that person.”

That person is widely expected to be former Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who was approached by Blank weeks ago about a high-ranking position in the organization, league sources told The Athletic. Interviews for the position began Thursday, and Blank confirmed Ryan would be one of those interviewed. NFL teams must interview at least two minority candidates for head coach and executive positions to comply with the league’s Rooney Rule.

“Matt is somebody we’ve had a warm relationship with and talked with,” Blank said. “Matt Ryan came into the league as a rookie in 2008, ended up leading a locker room of 53 players for 14 years, leading in a huddle, being a great player, leading the players, supporting coaches, etc. So his EQ and IQ when it comes to football (are) extraordinarily high. He’s an outstanding individual, a great community leader and the kind of person you’d certainly want to consider in that position.”

The Falcons will hire their president of football first, and that person will then participate in the interviews with head coach and general manager candidates.

“The president will not be doing their jobs for them at all, but will be holding them accountable, giving input and guidance when necessary,” Blank said.