Falcons head coach Dan Quinn was moving with a purpose while intensely watching the North team frenetically zip through drills at practice for the Senior Bowl.
Quinn was in the end zone. Then he briskly moved to the 20-yard line and later to the 40-yard line for a brief chat with Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin. Over came Jacksonville general manager David Caldwell for a chat, all the while, Quinn kept his eyes on the players.
After the practice, Quinn, who celebrates his one year anniversary Tuesday, reflected on his first calendar year as the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons in an exclusive interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“It’s been awesome,” Quinn said. “I’ve learned, man, a lot. Where do we start with this?”
It was a year ago that Quinn, fresh off an appearance in the Super Bowl, was being introduced at the Blank Family Foundation offices as the next coach of the Falcons with unprecedented powers. He was granted control of the final 53-man roster and reports directly to owner Arthur Blank.
Quinn inherited a team that was coming off of two losing seasons and was in need of a major overhaul on defense. He dove into the job of assessing the talent on hand and had to determine if the remaining players were fits for the new defensive and offensive schemes he planned to install.
There were some major lessons along the way as the Falcons got off to a 5-0 start and then stumbled through a six-game losing streak, which essentially ended their playoff aspirations.
“I learned that the connection from the team and messaging, like a style that you want to play with, that’s real,” Quinn said. “I was pleased with how the team responded to that. I learned that in terms of the staff, their connection to one another to make sure that we can get the very most out of the guys (was key.)”
Quinn, a native of New Jersey, who grew up as a fan of the New York Giants, has adjusted well to the Atlanta area. He loves the city’s passion for football and the Falcons.
“I like being in a part of the country where ball is so important,” Quinn said. “You can feel that from where (people) coach little league to high school ball to college ball and then, to be here and having this opportunity. Man, I recognized that and I’ve got a lot of gratitude for that.”
Quinn likes meeting the fans when he’s moving about the metro area.
“They have a lot of passion,” Quinn said. “You feel their support when they tell you, ‘we’re glad you’re here.’ I will say, ‘I appreciate you too for being behind the team.’ ”
Folks like to dine out in Atlanta and Quinn, and wife Stacy, have a few favorite spots, too.
“Downtown, I think STK Atlanta was one,” Quinn said. “I like that one a bunch.”
Shortly after being hired, Quinn attended the Black College Hall of Fame function downtown at the College Football Hall of Fame. The stream of well wishers was long.
“I think it’s the people here from the city to all the way out to the suburbs,” Quinn said. “We are a big community. It’s not just downtown. It’s all the way up to where I live. I’m closer to Flowery Branch, to every where in between.
“I’m looking forward to making a bigger connection with everybody here. When you feel the support for the team, you have pride for that.”
The Quinns have a foundation, Quinn’s Core, which supports military families. The plan is to connect more with the community through the foundation this spring.
“It’s cool, because in this profession, we’ve had a chance to live all over the country and it’s the communities that you live in that you feel a part of and we definitely feel a part of it,” Quinn said. “We are going to be more involved. We support military families and now we live in a state where the military has a pretty big impact and influence here. I’m jacked about that, too.”
Through the rocky season, Quinn remained steady. Several veteran players, from defensive tackle Tyson Jackson to quarterback Matt Ryan, praised his approach through the good and bad times.
“I like the process that we go through to get ready,” Quinn said. “I learned the importance of having an oneness and togetherness from ownership, personnel, coaching and throughout the organization. That’s exactly what I’d hope for going into it.”
After the glorious start, the Falcons went 1-1 and then dropped six straight. That tested the rookie coach and everyone on the roster.
“It was all hands on deck,” Quinn said. “Let’s do this the best way that we can.”
Things hit rock bottom in Charlotte where the Falcons were mauled by the Panthers, 38-0. Carolina quarterback Cam Newton and his mates brought out baseball bats during the pre-game, were dabbing, dancing and taking photos during the romp. The Falcons were fussing and fighting with each other. It was ugly.
Quinn found out a great deal about his team two weeks later. After gutting out a tough win in Jacksonville, they stood up to the NFC South bully and beat the Panthers 20-13 to hand the eventual NFC champions their only loss of the regular season.
There were more lessons for Quinn.
‘I learned a lot about myself in terms of, this was the year that I probably learned the most,” Quinn said. “It was tough. As you well know, when you come through some of the tough times, you gain some confidence. I had to go through that, it was hard, by the same token, I gained some things from that. I gained some perspective. I gained an outlook. Those kind of things are important, too.”
After the season, Quinn was tested again. Tennessee coach Mike Mularkey’s hired away veteran wide receivers coach Terry Robiskie to be his offensive coordinator.
In a thinking-out-of-the-box move, Quinn moved Raheem Morris from the defensive side of the ball to coach the wide receivers. Morris, is a well-respected teacher and former head coach, but he’s never coached on the offensive side of the ball.
“I think the guy is helluva of a football coach,” Quinn said. “I’ve seen him teach. I’ve known him for almost 20 years now. I know what he stands for. I want our team to have the energy and style that he brings.”
Quinn, who was elated to retain defensive backs Marquand Manuel, hired former Dallas assistant coach Jerome Henderson to takeover Morris’ passing game coordinator duties. He considers Manuel a rising star in the coaching profession.
“I’ve been really pleased with the development of Marquand,” Quinn said. “Although, he’s only had his position for a short time, you wouldn’t know that. He’s been preparing for that moment. This man was ready. He has totally come through in a lot of ways.
“Then having Jerome as the passing game coordinator, it’s a unique one because you must have the connection between supporting the coordinators, supporting me as the head coach, supporting me on third downs, two-minutes and all of that.”
While the lessons were many, Quinn believes they’ve made him a stronger coach heading into his second year.
“For me, I learned a lot about my balance,” Quinn said. “Where do I fit in, finding my rhythm offensively, defensively and on (special) teams.”
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