The Falcons have all but completed their coaching staff overhaul, promoting two coaches from within and hiring one from the Miami Dolphins. With the Senior Bowl in the books and the Combine coming faster than you'd think, it was important to get the staff together.
Kudos to the unstoppable D. Orlando Ledbetter for the report.
The first hire—defensive backs coach—isn't a surprise. I saw a report that Joe Danna had been hired as defensive backs coach almost a full week ago, but the team didn't make it official until now. He's familiar with Mike Nolan and did a good job with a young Dolphins secondary the last two years. I like the hire.
Glenn Thomas is not a name I knew, but he's the new quarterbacks coach. The offensive quality control assistant under Mike Smith since 2008, he's a guy with organizational familiarity and...well, that's about what we know about his tenure in Atlanta. Feel free to extrapolate based on your opinion of the offense over the last four years.
His history is pretty intriguing, though. As the offensive coordinator for Midwestern State from 2005-2007, Thomas twice helmed offenses that were among the NCAA leaders in yardage. You would also assume he has familiarity with Matt Ryan, which might be a major factor after the Falcons made their second switch at quarterback coach in two years. I'm cautiously optimistic.
The final hire is Andrew Weidinger, who is a new offensive assistant. He's a young, promising assistant, but this is the last time you'll hear me mention him in 2012 unless he tackles a player during a game. There you go.
What are your thoughts on these hires?