A number of head coaches currently feel the seat under them more than a little warm, and it seems that the time has run out for one former NFC Champion. According to a report from Jeff Schultz from The Athletic, the decision to dismiss Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quin “has been all but finalized.”
The Falcons' firing of Dan Quinn has been all but finalized and an announcement could come Monday or Tuesday, a source told @TheAthletic. The Falcons have started 0-5 for the first time since 1997 and Quinn is 14-23 since 2018. @TheAthleticNFL
— Jeff Schultz (@JeffSchultzATL) October 11, 2020
The Falcons have struggled this entire season, including blowing a number of double-digit leads, most notably to the Dallas Cowboys. In that game, the Falcons got out to a 19-point halftime lead, but allowed the Cowboys to score the game’s final 16 points and failed to even attempt to recover a pivotal onside kick:
.@DallasCowboys recover the onside kick!
📺: #ATLvsDAL on FOX
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/gdttfTQjuY pic.twitter.com/v6qAfH46hX— NFL (@NFL) September 20, 2020
This Sunday, Atlanta hosted the 2-2 Carolina Panthers, and they struggled to stop Teddy Bridgewater and company. Bridgewater completed 27 of 37 passes for 313 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Atlanta lost by a final score of 23-16. That dropped the Falcons to 0-5, and while the 23 points was actually an improvement on points allowed in a single game for the Falcons this season, go back and read that sentence again. Because prior to this loss Atlanta had allowed 38, 40, 30 and 30 points in each of their first four losses.
For a defensive-minded head coach like Quinn, that is never a good sign.
And now it seems his time has run out.