Matt Ryan bid farewell to CBS Sports on Sunday with an emotional speech that revealed how much his three years at the network meant to him as he transitions back to the Atlanta Falcons as their first president of football.
Ryan spoke from the heart about what CBS Sports gave him after retirement and how his colleagues on The NFL Today became the team he needed when his playing career ended.
“It’s always hard when you retire as a player, and it’s over. There’s a finality to it, and you have to move on. And there’s this empty void in your life of filling that space of teammates, the locker room. And that’s difficult. I think that’s difficult to deal with,” Ryan said. “And when I left, I was so lucky to be given the opportunity by David Berson and CBS to become a part of this team. My first year was with a crew on the road, and we were calling games. And when you’re out on the road calling games, you become a team and a group, and sort of a traveling circus. I’m thankful to that crew.”
Matt Ryan speaks from the heart about his time at CBS Sports ā¤ļø pic.twitter.com/6RNyZhjR9m
ā NFL on CBS š (@NFLonCBS) January 11, 2026
Ryan spent his first season at CBS calling games alongside Andrew Catalon and Tiki Barber before moving to the studio for The NFL Today in 2024. He replaced Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason alongside James Brown, Nate Burleson, and Bill Cowher. That’s where he found what he was looking for.
“And the last two years, you guys have become my team,” he said. “It’s helped me a lot, because it’s not easy. And I think former players, coaches, and people in that space, we can all relate to that, but you guys have made it better for me, and realized there’s life after, and you keep going.”
The Falcons hired Ryan on Friday as their first president of football, a newly created role with final decision-making authority over football operations. Both the general manager and head coach will report to Ryan. His first task is hiring both after the Falcons fired Raheem Morris and Terry Fontenot following an 8-9 season.
“Now, again, to be able to get back into that environment in the organization I’ve spent so much time with, it was one of one,” Ryan added. “But, I love you guys… This is the best group you could be a part of. I think we do it better than anybody else on-air, and I am so appreciative of my time spent here.”
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.