Falcons' Arthur Blank won't commit to keeping, or firing, Dan Quinn
Dan Quinn’s seat is thermonuclear, glowing brightly enough to be seen from space. The Falcons have been nothing short of miserable this season, their record standing at a woeful 1-7 after a 27-20 loss at home to Seattle.
The coach bears the brunt of that in any scenario, but it’s especially bad for Quinn, given that he has taken over a share of defensive playcalling duties, and the Falcons’ defense has been ... well, calling it “wretched” would be too kind. Coming into the weekend, the Falcons ranked 27th in yards allowed per game and 31st in points per game. They went more than a month without a single sack, and generally looked like a doormat to every team that lined up against them.
As he’s done after every game as the losses have piled up, Falcons owner Arthur Blank spoke to reporters about Quinn’s job security. While other owners might have already fired their coach into the sun, Blank is taking a more patient approach.
Arthur Blank addressed the media following the game today. pic.twitter.com/bbk3NVzWA3
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) October 27, 2019
The Falcons are entering the bye week, and frankly, if Quinn comes out of it with his job, it’ll be something of a minor miracle. Atlanta’s entering a stretch that would be punishing under the best of circumstances — New Orleans twice, Carolina twice and San Francisco in the space of six weeks — but now, Atlanta’s looking at a low-single-digits win total for 2019.
One point that Blank mentioned bears further notice: the fact that Quinn is very much a locker room favorite. Unlike many disintegrating organizations, there’s apparently no war between the players and the coaching staff. After last week’s blowout at the hands of the Rams, Julio Jones spoke up in defense of Quinn. It’s not like the season could get any worse, but the last thing Blank needs is a checked-out locker room as well as an ineffective coaching staff.
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
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