Arthur Blank is pretty good at hiring head coaches.

[Falcons Fan MVP 3,745]

I'm not joking. With the exception of Bobby Petrino every head coach he's hired has made it to at least the NFC championship game. Jim Mora, Mike Smith and Dan Quinn. 

Let's hope hits a home run next time. But to say that Arthur Blank is a bad owner just doesn't add up. I hope that the next head coach can get him the championship he deserves.

[JD dirtybird21 22,441]

I don’t think Dan Quinn was a good hire. I think Quinn got very lucky with Shanahan and otherwise has pretty much failed other than a 6-7 game stretch in 2016

[Geaux_Falcons 1,173]

I don't think people realize how poorly managed and run the Browns, the Jets, and Lions have been and how we could be right in those same situations if not for Blank making good choices. 

[theDIRTYcode 2,596]

I agree with you, however this time is gonna be a little bit different. We're 25+ million over the cap, an aging QB, and roster holes everywhere. 

Quinn took over a pretty situation. That's not the case this time around.

[octoslash 18,175]

He's not bad as an owner, but he's not great.  If I had to rank him I'd put him in the high teens...you know, just like our draft position most years.  

[Quarterback 4,244]

There has always been a lack of toughness associated with the Falcons and it reverberates down from their loving, touching, kissing, affectionate owner. Nothing at all wrong with loving your fellow man; however, there is this thing called "tough love" of which our Falcons could use a heavy doss and this just isn't Blank's strength.

[schwarzenegger321 2,685]

He is a bad owner.  Mike Smith and Michael Vick got us to our three NFC games.  Mora was an idiot.  Nothing to prove there.  Smith had a plan.  Smash mouth, tough bend not break defense, pound the ball and have a QB and WR that can do damage when they needed to.  Smith and Ryan got us there in '12 and Quinn inherited a loaded offense that Shanahan got to the Super Bowl.  Remove Shanahan from the equation and we never make it to the NFC championship game in 16.  In fact, I don't think we make it to the playoffs that year without him.

[Falcons Fan MVP 3,745]

2 minutes ago, JD dirtybird21 said:

I don’t think Dan Quinn was a good hire. I think Quinn got very lucky with Shanahan and otherwise has pretty much failed other than a 6-7 game stretch in 2016

I loved the way the Falcons defense played in 2017 down the stretch but ever since all those 2018 defensive injuries they just haven't been the same since. 

[Flyin' In DC 2,099]

2 minutes ago, JD dirtybird21 said:

I don’t think Dan Quinn was a good hire. I think Quinn got very lucky with Shanahan and otherwise has pretty much failed other than a 6-7 game stretch in 2016

I really wanted to believe in DQ but what is his record without Shanahan

24-28 including this year if my math is right

 

[Falcons Fan MVP 3,745]

3 minutes ago, Geaux_Falcons said:

I don't think people realize how poorly managed and run the Browns, the Jets, and Lions have been and how we could be right in those same situations if not for Blank making good choices. 

Give the Lions credit for trying with Caldwell and Patricia.

[FalconinPA 12,696]

I just hope the next one isn't a Smitty/Quinn clone. My heart couldn't take it. 

[Falcons Fan MVP 3,745]

3 minutes ago, schwarzenegger321 said:

He is a bad owner.  Mike Smith and Michael Vick got us to our three NFC games.  Mora was an idiot.  Nothing to prove there.  Smith had a plan.  Smash mouth, tough bend not break defense, pound the ball and have a QB and WR that can do damage when they needed to.  Smith and Ryan got us there in '12 and Quinn inherited a loaded offense that Shanahan got to the Super Bowl.  Remove Shanahan from the equation and we never make it to the NFC championship game in 16.  In fact, I don't think we make it to the playoffs that year without him.

We still have a loaded offense for the next coaching staff.

[Falcons Fan MVP 3,745]

1 minute ago, FalconinPA said:

I just hope the next one isn't a Smitty/Quinn clone. My heart couldn't take it. 

Knowing Blank he will probably hire a nice guy clean cut type. Probably someone we never thought of. LoL

[opensource001 1,065]

He use to be pretty good at firing coaches.  I miss those heady days.

[treboyplay 423]

12 minutes ago, JD dirtybird21 said:

I don’t think Dan Quinn was a good hire. I think Quinn got very lucky with Shanahan and otherwise has pretty much failed other than a 6-7 game stretch in 2016

Quinn has been really bad as of late and he 100% needs to go. But I have to at least give him credit for hiring Kyle. At the time Kyle’s name wasn’t that good. Especially coming off of the way he left Cleveland. 

[FalconJim 1,790]

I don't know if I agree with Blank being that good at hiring coaches --- maybe 50/50.  But he sure IS good at giving them every chance to be successful, EVEN TO A FAULT!!! 
I think Quinn should have been let go last off season, after back-to-back 7-9 seasons --- just too much talent to do that!  But, that's just me. 

And just think, IF that had happened (depending on the new HC), we MAY be in a much better place right now --- 🙂 

[WhenFalconsWin 27,932]

He has not had a sustainable long term coach. They may of had a brief flash but the definition of a good to great HC is to remain consistent. We've had more rah rah guys. Nice guys to the players, players need a kick in the *** every now and then, coach is not supposed to be their friend and if their effing up sit their *****. 

[falcndave 4,831]

32 minutes ago, JD dirtybird21 said:

I don’t think Dan Quinn was a good hire. I think Quinn got very lucky with Shanahan and otherwise has pretty much failed other than a 6-7 game stretch in 2016

I almost got ran off the boards for making a very similar statement the week before Superbowl 51.  It started with: "I'm on the fence about Quinn..."   Timing is everything!

[JD dirtybird21 22,441]

35 minutes ago, Falcons Fan MVP said:

I loved the way the Falcons defense played in 2017 down the stretch but ever since all those 2018 defensive injuries they just haven't been the same since. 

I hated that defense. Such a bend don’t break approach. I want turnovers, sacks, momentum shifters. 

[Osiruz 10,079]

Sure some coaches had a semblance of playoff success. That is due to talent and not coaching. The coaches were hired were terrible at their jobs. Smitty, quinn, and mora were fired elsewhere and some became the butt of jokes. Same for Kutty. Problem is that Artichoke likes wholesome good interview guys over coaches with actual talent and football acumen. Quinn without shanny would have been fired along time ago, he is riding off his coattails at this point. 

[MikeSmithsNotepad 375]

59 minutes ago, Geaux_Falcons said:

I don't think people realize how poorly managed and run the Browns, the Jets, and Lions have been and how we could be right in those same situations if not for Blank making good choices. 

 

Those are by far the worst teams in the league. Saying at least we are not the Browns is not saying much at all.  At least compare us to other middling teams like the Chargers and the Panthers. The Browns have a better record than us btw and a brighter future.

[Falcons Fan MVP 3,745]

47 minutes ago, Osiruz said:

Sure some coaches had a semblance of playoff success. That is due to talent and not coaching. The coaches were hired were terrible at their jobs. Smitty, quinn, and mora were fired elsewhere and some became the butt of jokes. Same for Kutty. Problem is that Artichoke likes wholesome good interview guys over coaches with actual talent and football acumen. Quinn without shanny would have been fired along time ago, he is riding off his coattails at this point. 

Well if we have a lot of talent that means we have a good GM.

[JDaveG 42,570]

Honestly, I think he or someone in that front office meddles too much.  There are WAY too many parallels between Mike Smith's and Dan Quinn's respective rises and falls.  Smith came in, had immediate success, was pressured to hire new coordinators, and did.  They got Julio -- and it is basically common knowledge at this point that the Julio trade was something he was against (if you don't believe that, @JOEinPHX can vouch for it).  New coordinators were okay for a season, then we gutted the o-line and went with the best 2nd year players we could get after the Julio trade in Konz and Holmes.  Went hard after Gonzalez and Jackson, cut Abe and brought in Umenyiora, who wasn't as good.  Etc.  Some of 2013 and 2014 was Smith's doing for sure. He and the DC weren't on the same page.  They did not prioritize line blocking enough.  Etc.  But a lot of those decisions weren't his to make.

Then Quinn comes in.  One so-so season, then the Super Bowl.  Coaching failures kept us from winning, granted.  But then after 2017, when the defense improved but the offense struggled in the first year under Sark, we had the opposite happen in 2018 when Sark got much better but the defense was decimated by injury.  Quinn hired new coordinators, including Koetter, so there's a pattern here.  Team didn't gel, we had a bad season, and then this season things are really just falling apart, in part because Quinn can't seem to get the defense playing even at a minimally competent level and in part because the offense is so very, very bad.

Now, I think Quinn needs to be fired for the same reason I thought Smith needed to be fired.  He's lost the team, coaching failures are costing us games (we should be 2-2 at worst right now), and the defense is horrible.  But I guess I just don't buy that all this falls at Quinn's feet.  Think of year 4 with Sark and Manuel as OC and DC instead of what we're watching.  How are we doing in that scenario?

I'd wager a lot better than we are.  And I don't believe Quinn made the sole decision to fire those guys, and I sure don't think he made the decision to bring Koetter back because it doesn't make any sense at all.  He said before the hire we were going to run outside zone run blocking over a WCO passing scheme.  So we hire a Coryell guy?

Come on.

[Ghosts of Glanville 3,389]

1 hour ago, WhenFalconsWin said:

He has not had a sustainable long term coach. They may of had a brief flash but the definition of a good to great HC is to remain consistent. We've had more rah rah guys. Nice guys to the players, players need a kick in the *** every now and then, coach is not supposed to be their friend and if their effing up sit their *****. 

It’s been like this before Blank took over.  Nearly every Falcons coach who had early success couldn’t sustain it.   Van Brocklin, Glanville, Jones, Reeves all had their best seasons in year 2.   Bennett, Reeves and Smith are the only coaches to make the playoffs in non-consecutive years.   This franchise is allergic to sustainability, which is an entirely different animal than continuity.  

Edited October 6, 2020 by Ghosts of Glanville

[JD dirtybird21 22,441]

7 minutes ago, JDaveG said:

Honestly, I think he or someone in that front office meddles too much.  There are WAY too many parallels between Mike Smith's and Dan Quinn's respective rises and falls.  Smith came in, had immediate success, was pressured to hire new coordinators, and did.  They got Julio -- and it is basically common knowledge at this point that the Julio trade was something he was against (if you don't believe that, @JOEinPHX can vouch for it).  New coordinators were okay for a season, then we gutted the o-line and went with the best 2nd year players we could get after the Julio trade in Konz and Holmes.  Went hard after Gonzalez and Jackson, cut Abe and brought in Umenyiora, who wasn't as good.  Etc.  Some of 2013 and 2014 was Smith's doing for sure. He and the DC weren't on the same page.  They did not prioritize line blocking enough.  Etc.  But a lot of those decisions weren't his to make.

Then Quinn comes in.  One so-so season, then the Super Bowl.  Coaching failures kept us from winning, granted.  But then after 2017, when the defense improved but the offense struggled in the first year under Sark, we had the opposite happen in 2018 when Sark got much better but the defense was decimated by injury.  Quinn hired new coordinators, including Koetter, so there's a pattern here.  Team didn't gel, we had a bad season, and then this season things are really just falling apart, in part because Quinn can't seem to get the defense playing even at a minimally competent level and in part because the offense is so very, very bad.

Now, I think Quinn needs to be fired for the same reason I thought Smith needed to be fired.  He's lost the team, coaching failures are costing us games (we should be 2-2 at worst right now), and the defense is horrible.  But I guess I just don't buy that all this falls at Quinn's feet.  Think of year 4 with Sark and Manuel as OC and DC instead of what we're watching.  How are we doing in that scenario?

I'd wager a lot better than we are.  And I don't believe Quinn made the sole decision to fire those guys, and I sure don't think he made the decision to bring Koetter back because it doesn't make any sense at all.  He said before the hire we were going to run outside zone run blocking over a WCO passing scheme.  So we hire a Coryell guy?

Come on.

I agree with most of this. Especially the last 2 paragraphs. But I disagree that Quinn is in a similar position to Smith. If you actually look at the whole body of work, Quinn has made a lot very bad decisions going all the way back to season 1. Remember the game in 2015 against San Francisco? Quinn chose to kick a field goal, down by 6, inside the 5 yard line, and the team lost. His teams have always looked extremely undisciplined and he does a terrible job with adjustments as well as game management. Smith actually had his team very buttoned up. Penalties were low and the team usually didn't make many mental mistakes. I think Smith actually won more games with LESS talent than Quinn. The difference is Quinn got a superstar offensive playcaller and got to ride that all the way to the SB with a super confident team carrying tons of momentum. 

That being said, if he was strong armed about the Koetter hire, you're right, it's not 100% on him. But I've seen enough to know he isn't a good head coach