Newly hired Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian said he remains in treatment to battle alcoholism, and he expressed gratitude toward the organization for giving him an opportunity.

“Everybody has issues that they have to deal with — some physical, some mental,” Sarkisian said Thursday. “This happens to be an issue of mine that I work on daily. That is important to me so I can be the best person I can be, the best father I can be, the best coach I can be. And I’m diligent in that.

“To be in an organization that recognizes the work that I’ve put in and that I’ll continue to put in and support that, it’s one that I’m very grateful for and thankful for, just as I was at Alabama with Coach [Nick] Saban.”

Sarkisian, most recently the offensive coordinator at Alabama, landed the Falcons job Tuesday, replacing new San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan.

Sarkisian’s bout with alcoholism has been well-documented. He was fired as the coach at USC in October 2015. Then-athletic director Pat Haden said Sarkisian showed up to school in no condition to lead practice. That followed an embarrassing moment at a pep rally, where he appeared to be intoxicated while speaking.

Sarkisian later sought treatment for his alcoholism and sued USC, alleging the school breached his contract and discriminated against him based on his disability.

“This isn’t something that is necessarily in my past,” Sarkisian said Thursday. “It is something that I have to work on every single day, that I do work on every single day because it is important to me. It’s important to who I am as a person.”

• 

  Matt Ryan has earned the right to make more play calls and more adjustments, and new Falcons OC Steve Sarkisian won’t be making an overhaul.

TEMPE, Ariz. — The inevitable is inevitable for the Arizona Cardinals.

At some point, they’ll have to find a successor to quarterback Carson Palmer, someone who can take the reins of coach Bruce Arians’ complex and layered offense, and find as much personal and team success as Palmer has over the past four seasons.

It just won’t be happening this season.

With Palmer’s announcement Thursday that he’ll be returning for the 2017 season, the Cardinals buy themselves another year to find their long-term solution at quarterback. But that shouldn’t be reason to stop looking. This is as good a year as any to either draft, sign or trade for a quarterback of the future and let him sit behind Palmer, watch, study and learn. It’s also as good a time as any because they’re not desperate to replace Palmer.

“I hope to,” Arians said of finding the heir apparent to Palmer. “That will be one of our main objectives in the offseason, is to make sure the franchise isn’t in the situation it was after Kurt [Warner], that the next guy is here and ready to roll.”

But Palmer’s return has given the franchise a buffer.

He’s still flourishing in his late 30s, throwing for another 4,233 yards and 26 touchdowns in a season when he turned 37 — and that was without two of his top targets at full power. With a fully charged cadre of receivers and an offensive line that doesn’t get hurt, Palmer could return to the MVP level he played at in 2015.

Critics may say Palmer has lost a step (although he never was a speedster out of the pocket) or that his throws don’t have the zip they once did. But Palmer has showed he can adjust and adapt — and still throw for 4,000 yards without as many deep throws as he had in 2015, when he, along with New England’s Tom Brady, received one MVP vote while the other 48 went to Carolina’s Cam Newton.

One of the most common refrains heard from his teammates is that Palmer is a workaholic. He’s constantly studying, watching film and working out. He’ll keep himself in top shape to get through the grind of the season. Last season, the Cardinals gave him Wednesdays off to keep his arm fresh. He may be old by NFL standards, but he won’t be reporting for OTAs and minicamp taped and glued together. At this point, Palmer still is the best option to lead the franchise on another playoff run. It helped that wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald decided to return last week as well.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — On a day when newly minted 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan would have preferred to look only to the future, he was asked multiple times to relive the past.

The Niners formally introduced Shanahan and general manager John Lynch to the Bay Area media on Thursday, and the pair spent about 45 minutes answering questions on a variety of topics. But one subject that came up early and often was the end of Super Bowl LI last Sunday, and Shanahan’s handling of the play-calling in the second half as the Falcons blew a 25-point lead and ultimately lost to the Patriots in overtime, 34-28.

• 

  Kyle Shanahan’s aggressive playcalls at the end of the fourth quarter will be scrutinized after the Falcons blew a 25-point lead.

Reaffirming the franchise’s desire to relocate to Southern Nevada in the wake of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson withdrawing his $650 million pledge last week, Oakland Raiders President Marc Badain told a meeting of the Las Vegas Stadium Authority Board that “financing will not be an issue” on Thursday.

And while the Raiders also lost the financing of Goldman Sachs, a longtime business partner of Adelson, Badain said “multiple financial institutions” had shown interest in the project for the $1.9 billion, $65,000-seat domed stadium the Raiders would share with UNLV. Badain, though, did not disclose said interested parties.

“You’d be surprised how many people are interested in funding this project,” Badain said.

At last week’s state-of-the-league address, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said potential investors with casino ties might want to look elsewhere, especially if they are looking for a certain path with their investment.

“I don’t see an ownership position in a team from a casino,” Goodell said. “That is not something that is consistent with our policies…not likely a stadium, either.”

The Raiders have pledged $500 million to the project and have identified a 62-acre plot on Russell Road, west of Interstate 15 and the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the south end of Las Vegas, as their preferred site.

And $750 million from a hotel tax is also in place.

The missing $650 million from Adelson, though, may be the least of the Raiders’ worries when it comes to relocation as a vindictive Adelson, who was angered that he was not listed on the Raiders’ lease proposal or the team’s relocation application to the NFL, could become their biggest foe, rather than their greatest ally in moving to Southern Nevada.

A vote for relocation could come at the NFL owners meetings in Phoenix March 26-29.

Badain said he hoped the Raiders and the Las Vegas Stadium Authority could make progress on the lease proposal the team submitted last month, which included a proposed $1 a year in rent for the Raiders.

“We’re in an industry where we’re used to plugging along and we’re used to having starts and stops,” Badain said. “(Raiders owner) Mark Davis made a commitment to Governor (Brian) Sandoval and we intend to see that through.”

— Information from the Las Vegas Sun was used in this report.