Falcons head coach Dan Quinn is probably on the hottest seat of any HC at the moment, and Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network says Quinn is being evaluated on a week-to-week basis (video link). That means that, if things go “horribly wrong” for Atlanta on Sunday, Quinn may be relieved of his duties shortly thereafter.
And, given that the 1-7 Falcons are 13-point underdogs to the 7-1 Saints this afternoon — and given that the game is in New Orleans — it’s not difficult to envision things going horribly wrong. Rapoport says Falcons owner Arthur Blank will use the Saints game to help him make a decision with respect to Quinn, so it sounds as if Quinn could hang onto his job for another week if his team puts up a good fight against New Orleans. But, if the Falcons lay another egg, Quinn could get the axe.
Atlanta’s defense, which is supposedly Quinn’s specialty, has been non-existent, and it’s currently ranked near the bottom of the league in just about every defensive category, allowing almost 400 yards of total offense per game. The Falcons had their bye last week but lost their sixth straight game the week before.
Quinn is currently in his fifth season and led Atlanta to the Super Bowl after the 2016 regular season, though an epic collapse during the Super Bowl denied the franchise of its first Lomabrdi Trophy. The Falcons posted a 10-6 record the following year, but it has been a downhill slide ever since. Even if Quinn makes it through the rest of 2019, he is widely expected to be fired in the offseason.
Aren’t we all
Based on what I’m watching today, the Saints are doing their best to help Quinn keep his job. Very lackluster and uninspired performance by a team that had #1 seed aspirations. Sad sad sad…
Any given Sunday. The Saints have also looked really good at times(7-1 isn’t too shabby) and without Brees for a stretch. The Falcons are coming off a bye week where teams typically are stronger. I’d just pump the brakes on writing them off as a number one seed based on one Sunday considering they’ve played half a season and lost one game. They have what it takes to make a run
I know it’s just one game, but it was the whole lackluster performance, especially coming off the bye week, and being at home. The margin for error is too slim to play like that today, all I’m saying.
I think Quinn is done in Atlanta but the real problem is that the team has had a culture of under achieving for a couple of decades now. It’s going to take more than a coaching change to find a solution to that problem.