SAN FRANCISCO — Much like Carolina coach Ron Rivera, who meets with Panthers owner Jerry Richardson weekly, Falcons coach Dan Quinn has regularly scheduled meetings with Falcons owner Arthur Blank.
“We meet on Mondays and we also meet or there is a phone call on Friday as I’m driving home,” Quinn said on Thursday. “During the offseason we meet some, too.”
Quinn, who went 8-8 in his first season as the head coach, was given control of the final 53-man roster. He’s fine with meeting with Blank.
“Most of the things that I gain, I usually leave a conversation and he may have an idea on a management thing or dealing with people or a scenario that he went through that’s not really related to the schemes,” Quinn said. “It’s where he’s led or made a mistake, those kind of conversations, I that I walk away from him. I have an appreciation for him and that he shared an experience that he went through, good or bad. Those are the ones that I’ve learned a bunch from.”
The post-game meetings on Monday are mostly about the football and the game.
“It’s kind of a review of the game,” Quinn said. “(General manager) Thomas (Dimitroff) is there. The three of us kind of go through the game. Our ‘Tell the Truth Monday’ kind of takes place with him, too.”
Quinn takes advantage of his access to the owner.
“The ones that are off site are generally where we have dinner together or are on the phone,” Quinn said. “We kind of go through that process.”
Quinn believes that Blank, one of the co-founders of Home Depot and a billionaire, can teach him things about leadership and managing people.
“He talks about things that he went through,” Quinn said. “Those are the ones where I generally ask a lot of questions when I am with him to try to find out more about it. That’s a side of my world that I don’t have any experience in, but the leading of people is something that he has terrific experience in. Most of my questions revolve around some kind of leadership aspect.”
About the Author
