FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – The Atlanta Falcons have parted ways with defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake and defensive line coach Jay Rodgers, the organization announced Saturday.

“After a thorough evaluation of the season and carefully considering the future of our team, we felt these steps were necessary,” head coach Raheem Morris said in a press release. “These decisions are never easy from a human perspective and we wish Jimmy, Jay and their families all the best.”

This news comes after a “disappointing” end to the 2024 season.

On defense, Atlanta struggled to keep the passer consistent most of the season. In the first half of the season, the Falcons ranked last in the league with 10 sacks in the first 11 weeks. After the bye, the Falcons improved in that area, recording 21 sacks in the final six games of the year, which were the second-most in that span.

However, this improvement was not enough to change their overall ranking for the season.

According to Next Gen Stats, the Falcons ranked 31st in the league in quarterback pressure rate and total sacks. They finished last in the league in sack rate. Additionally, Atlanta’s defense allowed a +0.08 EPA per dropback, which ranked 28th overall, and a -0.02 EPA per carry, which ranked 22nd. They gave up the ninth-most touchdowns in the league and allowed the tenth-most yards per game.

When asked about the future of his team’s coaches during his season-ending press conference on Monday, Morris said the team would use the past week to evaluate its plans for the future.

“I’ve been in the league for a while and it’s very rare for things to stay the same,” Morris said. “And there will always be changes in every way, and there will always be changes that you can make, especially when you start the evaluation process. I think it’s about being brutally honest with yourself. I think it’s about being brutally honest with each other and really having the opportunity to go out and really get involved in doing what’s best for our fan base and our fans.”

Lake and Rodgers had just finished their first season in Atlanta.

Before joining Morris’ coaching staff last offseason, Lake was an associate head coach of the Los Angeles Rams, coaching with Morris for the second time in her career after being Morris’ assistant defensive line coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2006-07. Before joining the Rams organization, Lake was the head coach at the University of Washington from 2020 to 2021.

Rodgers was in Atlanta with the Los Angeles Chargers before this season. He served as outside linebackers coach and running game coordinator in 2021 before moving to defensive line coach in 2022-23.

Atlanta will immediately begin the process of filling these vacated positions as it seeks to hire the organization’s fifth defensive coordinator since 2020.