While the Falcons were lining up their second round of interviews on Monday, former Denver coach John Fox jumped on the NFL’s coaching carousel after being fired.
Arizona defensive coordinator Todd Bowles’ second interview is set for Wednesday and Detroit defensive coordinator Teryl Austin’s second interview is scheduled for Thursday.
Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn can not be interviewed again until the Seahawks are eliminated from the playoffs.
Because of Fox’s nine years spent in the NFC South as head coach of the Carolina Panthers (2002-2010), he’s a logical candidate for the Falcons to add to the search, which is being aided by corporate search firm Korn Ferry.
The Falcons stated goal is to win a Super Bowl title. Fox has taken two franchises to the Super Bowl. The main reason Falcons owner Arthur Blank gave for firing Mike Smith was that he no longer believed Smith could take the franchise to its first Super Bowl title.
With Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan is off the market and Quinn likely headed to the New York Jets, here’s a look at the key candidates that the Falcons have interviewed:
Todd Bowles
Arizona defensive coordinator
Who's targeting: a graph: Chicago, San Francisco, New York Jets and Oakland.
Why he's a fit for Falcons: He's a defensive minded coach and the Falcons have the 32nd ranked defense in the league. In his first year in Arizona, the Cardinals had the NFL's 6th ranked defense and No. 1 ranked run defense. They allowed the fewest rushing yards in team history for a 16-game season (1,351 yards), had 47.0 sacks (3rd in team history) and 30 takeaways (tied for 6th in NFL), including 20 interceptions (5th in NFL). Without linebackers John Abraham, Karlos Dansby and Daryl Washington, the Cardinals defense took a step backwards last season.
Why he might go elsewhere: He could be attracted to the Bears. Former coach Tony Dungy has stated that he would be a good fit with the Bears.
Comment: He seems too much like Mike Smith. Might as well have kept ol' Coach Smitty.
Odds to Falcons: 15-1
Dan Quinn
Seahawks defensive coordinator
Who's targeting: Appears headed to the New York Jets.
Why he's a fit for Falcons: He's a defensive coach and the Falcons need to fix their defense.
Why he might go elsewhere: He's from New Jersey and would be going home to coach the Jets.
Comment: He's worked with the Seattle coach Pete Carroll. Gus Bradley, his predecessor, was hired away by Jacksonville and is making slow progress in turning around that franchise.
Odds to Falcons: 25-1
Josh McDaniels
Patriots offensive coordinator
Who's targeting: San Francisco and Atlanta.
Why he's a fit for Falcons: He has experience as a head coach in Denver, but that didn't go very well. He fits Blank's description of an "adaptive" offensive mind. Blanks likes how the Patriots will run the ball 40 times in one game and then throw it 40 times in the next game. Those game-specific game-plans are intriguing to the ownership.
Why he might go elsewhere: He may just stay put and ride the Tom Brady train for a few more years. Who would blame him? He could likely be the heir-apparent to Bill Belichick one day.
Comment: He may prefer staying in New England over reuniting with general manager Thomas Dimitroff and assistant general manager Scott Pioli down here in "New England South" as CBS analyst Boomer Esiason calls it. The direct report to the owner may not be a selling point for him. He'd probably much rather report to Dimitroff.
Odds to Falcons: 30-1
Keith Armstrong
Falcons special teams coordinator
Who's targeting: Falcons.
Why he's a fit for Falcons: He's s stern communicator and demands that his players execute. We got to see his up-front and in-your-face brand of coaching during HBO's Hard Knocks. He would demand accountability and that's why the Falcons special teams units have been consistently high-ranking during his tenure.
Why he might go elsewhere: He's likely here to stay if Bowles gets the job. They were college teammates under Arizona coach Bruce Arians at Temple.
Comment: He appears to be a longshot in the race, but Baltimore hired a special teams coordinator in John Harbaugh and that has worked out just fine for the Ravens.
Odds to Falcons: 60-1
Doug Marrone
Former Bills head coach
Who's targeting: Jets and Atlanta.
Why he's a fit for Falcons: Marrone was considered the favorite to land the New York Jets' job before bombing out during his interview. Marrone, 50, coached the Bills to a 15-17 record over the past two seasons. Marrone was an assistant coach at Georgia and Georgia Tech. He was the Bulldogs' offensive line coach in 2000, and he was on the Yellow Jackets' staff from 1995-99. He was a football operations assistant in 1995, tight ends coach in 1996 and offensive line coach from 1997-99. The Bills finished 9-7 last season, their first winning mark in a decade. He previously was the head coach at Syracuse.
Why he might go elsewhere: After opting out of his contract with the Bills, Marrone may not have any other options.
Comment: Bob Casullo was Marrone's assistant head coach with the Orange in 2009 and part of 2010 and ripped his former boss on the radio, the New York Daily News reported. "Self-centered, selfish, greedy," was how Casullo described Marrone on ESPN Syracuse. "You're re-shuffling an egomaniac, less than .500 coach."
Odds to Falcons: 50-1
Teryl Austin
Lions defensive coordinator
Who's targeting: San Francisco and Atlanta.
Why he's a fit for Falcons: Lions coach Jim Caldwell says Austin deserves a chance to be a head coach. Austin helped his case with the pressure that his unit generated against the Cowboys in the wild-card round of the playoffs. They were able to disguise their blitzes and create free paths to the quarterback. The Lions registered six sacks and 10 quarterback hits against the Cowboys.
Why he might go elsewhere: Atlanta may be his only shot as San Francisco appears to be leaning toward an offensive minded coach.
Comment: The way he elevated Detroit's defense can't be ignored and he might be able to help the Falcons land defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh if he becomes a free agent.
Odds to Falcons: 25-1
Adam Gase
Broncos offensive coordinator
Who's targeting: He's had interviews with San Francisco, Chicago and Atlanta.
Why he's a fit for Falcons: 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 Fox, who then promoted him to offensive coordinator.
Why he might go elsewhere: San Francisco may be a more attractive spot because of the depth on their roster.
Comment: The biggest question: Is he ready for this jump?
Odds to Falcons: 40-1
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