The Falcons did enough down the stretch of the 2019 season to convince owner Arthur Blank to retain head coach Dan Quinn and his staff for another year.
Even though some fans would have preferred the team to find a new voice, Quinn’s calm, pragmatic leadership style has helped him keep the respect of his players during two frustrating seasons.
Plus, Quinn has a 46-39 overall record after five seasons, going 3-2 in the playoffs with a Super Bowl appearance. But putting all of that aside, the biggest reason Atlanta’s decision to keep its head coach may pan out is because of the unusual nature of the 2020 offseason due to the COVID-19 outbreak and resulting quarantine.
The experience factor could favor Atlanta
As the NFL tries to become a safer league, players and coaches don’t get to spend as much time together as they would have in previous offseasons anyway. For a new coach, dealing with the quarantine could result in being miles behind by the time the league begins training camp.
Meanwhile, Quinn has the command of a very talented locker room as we get closer to what’s likely to be an unusual start to the season. There’s an advantage to experience, which the Falcons have plenty of.
Dimitroff’s plan this offseason was to trim the fat on the roster and create as much salary cap space as possible, while also trying to get younger. In other words, he’s betting on the young players to step up and fill different roles to create the most efficient possible version of the team.
The Falcons have veteran talent at key positions, a stable, proven coaching staff and are relatively under the radar nationally. It’ll be interesting to see if these factors, along with Dimitroff’s many offseason moves will be enough for the team to return to the playoffs in 2020.
