On the cusp of opening night, the Falcons are still shuffling their offensive line, which now includes one player (Jake Matthews) drafted by this team since Thomas Dimitroff became general manager in January 2008. Such a gap — in this case, more a crevasse — was surely one reason the Falcons redid their organizational chart to leave control of the 53-man roster with the head coach.
Here we note: The head coach in question has never been a head coach before.
Have I been impressed by Dan Quinn? Yes. Did I think he was the best coaching hire any NFL team made over the winter? I did and do. Do I see any reason why he can’t lead this franchise to the playoffs in Year 1? Nary a one. But I’d be less than forthcoming if I didn’t say this: I’m not sure he merits all the power vested in him by Arthur M. Blank.
On Jan. 2, 2013, Quinn was coaching Florida’s defense against Louisville in the Sugar Bowl. Two weeks later, he returned to the NFL as Seattle’s defensive coordinator. He helped the Seahawks win one Super Bowl and very nearly another. By any measure, he’s a rising star among coaches. But how many rookie head coaches are given final say over their rosters?
Another question: Even as we concede that Quinn knows a lot about football, how much does he know about, say, constructing an offensive line? He got his start at William & Mary in 1995 coaching the defensive line. He coached the defensive line for VMI, Hofstra, the 49ers, the Dolphins, the Jets and the Seahawks. His first coordinator’s job was at Florida, where Will Muschamp, himself a defensive coordinator, was the head coach.
Under Quinn, Seattle ranked first among NFL teams in total defense the past two seasons. But it wasn’t as if the Seahawks were stopping nobody before DQ became DC. They ranked ninth in 2011 and fourth in 2012 under coordinator Gus Bradley, whose departure to become head coach in Jacksonville led to Quinn’s promotion. And it must be mentioned that Pete Carroll, Seattle’s head coach, was once a defensive coordinator.
This isn’t to suggest that Quinn’s coaching credentials are suspect. He has done a good job wherever he has been. I have no problem with the Falcons making him their head coach. My concern is this: What in his background suggests that Quinn is likewise an expert in personnel matters?
For this franchise, it’s an especially loaded question. Dan Reeves, who’d already been a head coach with the Broncos and the Giants, was the last Falcons coach to hold such sway over personnel. In his seven seasons here, Reeves proved he was really good at coaching players but bad at picking them. (Two words: Reggie Kelly.)
Quinn keeps stressing that he and Dimitroff have forged a splendid working relationship. Dimitroff seconds the emotion. But can we interpret this post-camp trawl for castoffs as anything but a coach saying, “I can’t win with this; find me something else”?
Maybe that’s the way it should work. Maybe Mike Smith would still be coaching this team if he’d said to Dimitroff: “You call these linemen?” But Dimitroff and Smith arrived at roughly the same time and were essentially partners. Quinn is the new guy with lots of power. For all the happy talk, I wonder how happy this arrangement will be.
I also wonder about that org chart. Falcons president Rich McKay was once a GM. So was Scott Pioli, who works under Dimitroff but has taken control of scouting and the draft. Blank, who owns the team and never lets us forget it, has occasionally acted as his own GM. To top it off, Blank plans to hire a CEO for the Falcons and his nascent soccer club. There are more layers in this front office than on a fraternity pledge crossing Harvard Yard on a winter’s day.
Don’t get me wrong. I believe Quinn the coach will do fine. But Reeves was great as a coach until he was undercut by the roster he helped assemble. The Falcons reached the Super Bowl in his second season here; they would manage one more winning season under Reeves, whom Blank fired in 2003. (Five more words: Jammi German over Hines Ward.)
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