Halfway through the season, it looked as if Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn wouldn’t even make it through the season. At best, the Falcons would stick with him and dump him after the season.
Well, forget both of those scenarios. Quinn will be the Atlanta coach in 2020. And general manager Thomas Dimitroff also will return. Team owner Arthur Blank made the announcement Friday. Quinn and Dimitroff will continue to report to team president Rich McKay who reports to Blank.
“Every year we evaluate all our football operations and this year I have asked Rich to work closely with Thomas and Dan over the next couple of weeks to conduct a top-to-bottom review, inclusive of structure, processes, resourcing and personnel to identify whatever changes are necessary to enable us to compete consistently at the highest level. In my time as owner, and particularly since 2008, we have been one of the winningest teams in the NFC ranking fourth in wins and across the NFL, tied for seventh in wins, and that remains the only acceptable result for us now and in the future,” Blank said in a statement.
That’s good for Quinn and Dimitroff. But they’ll enter next season on the hot seat. Blank wants to win and his patience has to be wearing thin. Despite having star players like Matt Ryan and Julio Jones, the Falcons got off to a 1-7 start.
Perhaps the only thing that saved Quinn was that he never lost the team and has gone 5-2 since. But he’s down to his last chance. If the Falcons don’t win next year, Quinn – and likely Dimitroff – will be gone.
Pat Yasinskas has covered the NFL since 1993. He has worked for The Tampa Tribune, The Charlotte Observer and ESPN.com and writes for numerous national magazines and websites. He also has served as a voter for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.