Dan Quinn‘s job is safe… for now. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport report (via Twitter) that the Falcons head coach won’t be fired during the bye week. Quinn will presumably be on the sideline for Atlanta’s Week 10 matchup against the Saints.
Last month, owner Arthur Blank didn’t give a definitive answer when asked if the team would make any changes during the bye week. As Garafolo points out, Blank has been especially supportive of Quinn, although that could partly be attributed to the fallout that followed the firing of their last head coach, Mike Smith.
Even if Quinn is safe for now, unless the Falcons have some miraculous turnaround, there’s little chance the head coach sticks with the team next season. Garafolo says that many people believe Quinn will ultimately be fired, especially after the team didn’t respond to the overhaul of the coaching staff this past offseason.
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 lost their sixth straight game last weekend, dropping them to 1-7.
Quinn is currently in his fifth season and most notably led Atlanta to the Super Bowl after the 2016 regular season. The Falcons posted a 10-6 record the following year, which was the last time Atlanta finished the season above .500 and/or went to the postseason.
What’s the point in firing him now? He is tanking just fine. Season is done.
What about after the BYE week?
If it makes Atlanta fans feel any better, Matt Patricia is supposed to be a defensive specialist as well. Detroit is ranked dead last in a number of defensive categories. But in the case of Dan Quinn, the regression of this team and its players is alarming.
I know it’s not fair when comparing to Pats…but they didnt hire a D-coordinaor after Flores left and they’re having an historic season. It can be done being a head coach and a coordinator, it’s just not working here
I was sure he could make those guys work on D… oops
what is meant by ‘Blank has especially supportive of Quinn, but that may attributed to fallout after firing Mike Smith’?….what fallout?
It isn’t Quinn’s fault that the GM is overpaying players
These types of mid season coaching announcements aren’t uncommon. In most cases I think it’s just a heads up to the players…a way for the owner to say “Yeah, we are firing this coach at season’s end but any of you that quit on him before then, may be expendable as well”.
Quinn is merely a easy target to a cluster of many bad decisions among not only Quinn, but also everyone else in falcons mgmt. Draft horribly, spend money in the wrong places (think CB positions), and letting the wrong people walk. Coaching is a big element of it, but when you don’t piece together a bunch of bad players… you’re gonna have a bad team
I tend to agree, although I can see the reasoning behind Atlanta giving CB big contracts. Having to face Brees, and to a lesser extent, Newton when healthy, I’m sure the Falcons thought they’d better shore up that position. I believe, however, that too much money was invested in Ryan, and the Falcons, when they were winning, ran the football, two things they no longer do well, on top of being below average on defense. Bad, rough combination.
well…
This team is an absolute disaster. Blank should clean house and start fresh. They look overmatched defensively every week. There is also no excuse in a team this talented offensively to struggle scoring. Too much money invested in aging players. This team is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. Blank is a great owner but no spring chicken. I hope this team can win him one but I just don’t see it happening in this roster window.
They should have had a fire sale AND fired the Head coach. This team is awfull.