FLOWERY BRANCH – Falcons head coaching candidate Teryl Austin arrived in town late Wednesday night and is interviewing with the team today.
Also, the Falcons have requested Denver coordinator Adam Gase for an offensive coordinator interview, according to the league-owned NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.
Gase previously interviewed for the head coaching position with the Falcons.
Former Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter left to become Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator after the season. He cleaned out his office on Dec. 29 after former head coach Mike Smith was fired.
Smith was the wininngest coach in team history with 66 wins over seven seasons. He was 10-22 over the past two seasons.
Gase, 36, is considered one of the top offensive coaches in the NFL. He was a quarterbacks coach under former Denver coach Josh McDaniels, but was retained by new coach John Fox, who then promoted him to offensive coordinator.
Fox was fired after the Broncos were eliminated from the divisional round of the playoffs for the second time over three seasons.
Gase had several head-coaching interviews over Denver’s bye week.
"It's a great opportunity to be able to do this," Gase told the Associated Press. "For these guys to reach out and want to talk to me, I'm excited about it.”
Gase was Tim Tebow's position coach in 2011 when the Broncos reached the playoffs and beat Pittsburgh and then helped Peyton Manning transition to his new team in 2012.
"These last three years have been special," Gase said.
Manning is a big fan.
"Last year I talked to a couple of teams on behalf of him that reached out to me and that may happen again, so I'm certainly glad to share my thoughts," Manning said. "I think it's pretty well-documented my thoughts on him, so I don't think he needs me to stand up here and campaign for him.”
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