Rejoice, New Orleans Saints fans: the Atlanta Falcons aren’t calling it quits just yet. Team owner Arthur Blank confirmed that he’ll retain head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff for the 2020 season despite their repeated mediocrity after blowing a 28-3 lead in Super Bowl LI.
Two years into his stint as head coach, Quinn went into that game with a 21-13 record; including that championship loss, his Falcons have gone 24-26 since then, with one left to play. A win on Sunday over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers would mean back-to-back 7-9 seasons.
And that number gives Blank something positive to point to. The NFC South-rival Saints stagnated with three consecutive 7-9 seasons from 2014 to 2016 before bouncing back in 2017; they’ve since won 38 of their last 51 games. Blank watched as the Saints kept the ship steady with Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis at the helm, and then things took off.
So Blank’s following that example, only he’s missing the finer details. After that third mediocre season, the Saints completely revamped their defensive coaching staff and college scouting department. Longtime assistants like Joe Vitt and Bill Johnson were let go, while new blood including Mike Nolan, Ryan Nielsen, and Jeff Ireland were hired (and Ireland was eventually promoted to assistant general manager). While the top of the organizational chart remained stable, the Saints did some serious self-scouting to identify liabilities, and took major steps to address them.
Blank is hesitant to do that. Underwhelming play-caller Dirk Koetter will remain the offensive coordinator, while secondary coach Raheem Morris was promoted to defensive coordinator. The Falcons don’t appear willing to part ways with any familiar faces within the organization, meaning another year of motivational T-shirts and missed opportunities is likely on the way.
You love to see it. The Saints overlooked the Falcons after their bye week, and got upset by them. The San Francisco 49ers were too beaten-up by the Saints in their own game against them, and managed to let the Falcons beat them, too. Those two surprising late-season wins showed Blank enough to justify another year with things as they are, and maybe not as they should be.
And that’s great news for Saints fans. The longer the Falcons stick to an subpar formula, the better off New Orleans will be.
