Atlanta hires assistant OL coach Chandler Henley

When the Falcons first hired Arthur Smith, it seemed like a safe bet he’d take some assistants from the Tennessee Titans with him, given that he spent more than a decade with that team. To this point, he’s added a lot of former Titans coaches like offensive coordinator Dave Ragone, defensive coordinator Dean Pees, and quarterbacks coach Charles London, but not any who coached alongside him in 2020.

That changes today with the addition of Chandler Henley, a quality control coach who worked for Tennessee from 2018-2020. The Falcons just announced he’ll join Smith’s staff as an assistant offensive line coach, working with offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford.

Henley’s focus was on the offensive line, per the team’s story, though before that he coached tight ends with Yale (which means he coached exclusive rights free agent Jaeden Graham) and was once an assistant quarterbacks coach at Yale. He’ll be tasked with helping Smith and Ledford get the most out of a line with unsettled spots at center and left guard, which in turn should help to enable better things for the entire offense. Given that Smith got his start as a quality control coach for the Titans, it’s cool that he can give a coach in a similar position a promotion and a shot at working his way up the ranks.

Welcome to Atlanta, Chandler Henley!