Would Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan be a good NFL head coach one day?

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is not a football novice. He’s been playing professionally for ten years. As a pro, he’s experienced the highs, the lows, and more recently, the soul crushing defeat turned Gatorade commercial. Ryan just turned 32 in May, and with any luck, the Falcons will squeeze another five good years out him. But one day he will retire; so what will Matty Ice do when he’s no longer the Falcons starting quarterback? Climb mountains? Run for President? Cure cancer? The possibilities are endless!

NFL.com’s Gil Brandt wrote an interesting piece today about current players that’d make good head coaches. This isn’t supposed to be a ranking. He lists 11 players and says they are in no particular order. (But for what it’s worth, Ryan’s name came second on that non-ranked list.)

He's very smart, has great leadership qualities and would be fantastic in the role of head coach. Every time I have a chance to visit with a quarterback after his last game of college football and before his first NFL season, I try to quiz him about players he played against in his last college campaign. Ryan was the Michelangelo of this exercise. I try to talk to all these kids to see how sharp they are, and Ryan was off the charts.

Brandt also mentions Ryan’s offseason camp that’s become an annual event. Look, there’s no doubting his football intelligence or leadership skills. Last year’s MVP has a brilliant football mind that’s carried him this far. But NFL coaching gigs are hard to come by and there are hundreds of former players chomping at the bit right now, trying to land on a coaching staff somewhere.

Is this a real possibility? Sure, and I think Ryan would be good at it. But his tenure with the Falcons won’t be enough to land him such a gig. He’d have to go out there and earn it. If his career to date is any indication, he definitely has that in him.

Your thoughts?