Joe Flacco, Baker Mayfield, Shedeur Sanders, Deshaun Watson, Jameis Winston.That’s just a few.Kevin Stefanski has had a carousel of starting quarterbacks during his seven-year NFL head coaching career.Thirteen, to be exact, from his Cleveland Browns tenure from 2020 to 2025.Now, as the Falcons head coach, Stefanski has named his 14th starter, Tua Tagovailoa, who will operate Atlanta’s offense in its Week 1 NFL season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday, Sept. 13.That’s if Tagovailoa makes it to Sunday after suffering an oblique injury at Thursday’s practice, Sept. 10, three days before kickoff. He was listed as a limited participant on the injury report, and Cooper Rush took most of the first-team reps.Much of Stefanski’s time leading NFL teams has been on teams in quarterback purgatory. Not that the Browns didn't try to address the position with arguably the worst trade and contract in NFL history. His most successful products were Mayfield and Flacco, who guided the Browns to NFL playoff appearances during their respective seasons running the show under center: 2020 for the former and 2023 for the latter. Those were the Browns’ lone playoff seasons under Stefanski and their only playoff appearances since 2002, helping him win AP NFL Coach of the Year both years.Stefanski hopes to have similar success with Tagovailoa in his first year as Atlanta’s head coach.“Any coach, I don’t care what you’re coaching, you’re worth your salt if you’re leaning into what your players do best,” Stefanski said. “With working with all the quarterbacks over my career, whether they’re the starter or not, guys are comfortable with certain things. Our jobs as coaches are to find out what in this broad scheme fits your eye. What are your strengths?”Tagovailoa is the starter if he’s healthy this weekend.But Atlanta’s quarterback situation isn’t crystal clear.Michael Penix Jr. was in contention for the starting quarterback job, but wasn’t cleared for 11-on-11 activity from a partially torn left ACL until days before the NFL preseason finale against the Miami Dolphins. He’s inactive for the Falcons season opener this Sunday, which likely prompted Atlanta to keep four quarterbacks on its 53-man roster. Rush is the backup, and Jack Strand is the emergency third string.If Tagovailoa is out Sunday, it will force Stefanski’s hand to name his 15th starter. Then, if or when Penix is fully cleared, he could be the 16th.Penix and Tagovailoa are both lefties.But their playing styles vastly differ.Penix thrives on deep balls, while Tagovailoa is a rhythmic, quick-hit thrower.If an unexpected quarterback change happens, Stefanski and offensive coordinator Tommy Rees will have to nuance how the Falcons attack defenses.“Sometimes that happens in a given season,” Stefanski said. “If you play multiple guys, you have to have those small pivots in a season. We’ve had to do it via injury at times. You can’t change an offense. But you can lean into certain concepts that guys see better than others.”Falcons-Steelers kicks off at Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m. It’ll be televised on FOX.Atlanta aims for its first win over the Steelers since 2006.Sign up for our free Atlanta Falcons newsletter and follow us and 30,000 Falcons fans on Facebook and X for the latest news!Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow