FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — When Kevin Stefanski was named the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, it was an easy call to reach out to Bill Callahan.It was an even easier “yes” for Callahan, the veteran offensive-line coach who is now working for his eighth NFL team and beginning his second turn as a Stefanski assistant.“I love how Kevin runs the program. I know what he stands for,” Callahan said. “I know what he demands. I know the standard he holds himself to. I’m all about that. When you work for a coach like that, it’s an easy buy-in.”Stefanski has reassembled much of the Cleveland Browns’ offensive coaching staff with the Falcons, hiring offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt, along with the 69-year-old Callahan, who brings one of the league’s most distinguished resumes to Atlanta.Callahan has coached 14 Pro Bowlers in a career that has included 27 years in professional football and 19 years at the college level. In 2024, he was awarded the Pro Football Writers of America’s Paul “Dr. Z” Zimmerman Award, a lifetime achievement award for NFL assistant coaches.“Jeez, he started coaching when my dad was playing,” Falcons offensive lineman Jake Matthews said. “The guys will chuckle a lot because he’s always got some memory of a throwback Hall of Fame player.”Callahan has coached the offensive line for the Philadelphia Eagles, then-Oakland Raiders, New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys, Washington Commanders, Browns and Tennessee Titans. He spent four seasons working for Stefanski in Cleveland before leaving in 2024 to join Brian Callahan’s (his son) coaching staff in Tennessee.“Thrilled that we were able to bring him to Atlanta,” Stefanski said. “Bill is an excellent developer of talent. I think he sees the game really well. He’s excellent at putting run plans together. He’s done it at a high level for a long time. I’m very lucky to work with him.”Callahan, who also has been a head coach for the Raiders and at the University of Nebraska, doesn’t have the run-game coordinator title in Atlanta, but that’s essentially the role he will play, Stefanski said.“He’s somebody that I lean on quite a bit,” Stefanski said. “He’s definitely a resource for me as a young coach, and he’s a great, great, great technician.”Callahan’s taking over the run game shouldn’t represent a dramatic change for the Falcons’ offensive line, but there will be some adjustments. Atlanta featured one of the league’s most wide-zone-heavy running schemes in the last six years under former offensive-line coach Dwayne Ledford. Callahan has traditionally sprinkled in more gap-scheme runs in his previous stops.“Teams’ identities change, they morph, and we’re seeing a little bit of difference but a lot of similarities, too,” Pro Bowl right guard Chris Lindstrom said.Callahan finds himself inheriting a veteran offensive line in Atlanta. The Falcons’ projected starters — Matthews, Lindstrom, center Ryan Neuzil, left guard Matthew Bergeron and right tackle Jawaan Taylor — have a combined 490 NFL regular-season starts, and all but Taylor are veterans of Ledford’s system.“It’s a great group of guys,” Callahan said. “Coach Led did a phenomenal job here. He’s got the line rolling. They are physical. They have a great attitude about themselves. They did a great job of producing in the run game. I’m just here to maintain what they have done here and improve upon it.”Callahan reviewed not only game tape but also practice tape of all of the Falcons’ offensive linemen before meeting them.“Bill made it really clear that first week that he respects us a lot, what we’ve done and put together and the type of players we are,” Matthews said. “He likes what we’re doing and has some tweaks. It means a lot coming from him and the experience he has. He’s got us all thinking a little bit differently and mixing things up.”Lindstrom was quick to note that Callahan has coached Joel Bitonio and Zack Martin, Pro Bowl guards he has tried to emulate in his career.“Coach Callahan obviously has a great resume and has coached a lot of great players in his time, and a lot of them have great things to say about him,” Lindstrom said. “It’s been awesome so far working with him. He’s obviously done it as one of the most prolific line coaches in the league.”Callahan stressed this week during Atlanta’s OTA session that he’ll be as focused on the back end of the offensive-line rotation as the veteran starters.“The way the league is right now, you are filtering in young players, you’re churning the bottom of your roster, trying to develop players, especially on the line,” he said. “So the value of developing a young offensive lineman who could play for you, monetarily, it helps everything. The more we can develop in that area and not expend a higher pick or spend more on a skill position player, that’s what everybody should be shooting for.”Part of that development for young players will be classroom assignments studying the history of the position and the league and any other subject Callahan and the veterans might deem worthy. The lessons will be presented to the offensive-line group like a book report, Callahan said.“It’s important for the rookies to understand the NFL. We stand on broad shoulders,” he said. “I think it’s important that they appreciate what players have done and that they understand the greatness about these players that have played.”Work, whether it be homework or practice reps, will be the defining feature of Callahan’s approach, Stefanski said.“There’s no secret to improving,” Stefanski said. “You just have to be out there and try to do what your coach is asking you to do.”Callahan’s credentials have made that an easy ask so far for the Falcons’ linemen.“I think just speaking as an offensive lineman, the key emphasis is we want to be a team that outworks other teams, and when they put our film on, they see something different,” Matthews said. “I think we’ve got something special starting.”