Done Deal: Falcons Announce Hiring Of Mike Tice

Last night, reports began surfacing that the Falcons had reached an agreement with Mike Tice, who would serve as the team's new offensive line coach after the firings of Pat Hill and Paul Dunn.

Now, that move has been made official:

Mike Tice has agreed to terms to become the Falcons' new offensive line coach #RiseUp

— Jay Adams (@FalconsJAdams) January 8, 2014

It turns out Vaughn McClure over at ESPN, a former Bears beat writer, was all over this one from the start. And from what he knows of Tice, he seems to think the one-time Chicago assistant would make himself a fine fit with the Atlanta Falcons. He brings a "tough guy" mentality, which is of course exactly what the offensive line lacked in 2013, and he "didn't take any crap," which seemed to be an allusion to Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. We all know the stories about that guy.

And before you ask: yes, Tice was at one point a coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars, from 2006-2009 during the latter part of Mike Smith's tenure as defensive coordinator. I won't get into it too much and steal Dave's thunder, but obviously the two know each other.

McClure also asserts that Tice will hire an assistant, which was Paul Dunn's role under Pat Hill last year. Most NFL teams do in fact employ two offensive line coaches, and Tice should have his pick of who he wants.

All that remains beyond that is finding the right players to fill out this Falcons line to give it a nice offseason make-over. Which, you know, is probably easier said than done.