Arthur Blank gives Dan Quinn dreaded/welcome vote of confidence after 38-0 loss to Panthers

Votes of confidence for head coaches are either a good sign that an owner is standing behind his guy, or the first visible sign of unrest behind the scenes, the kind that spurs an owner to express a level of confidence he might not have. The problem is that we rarely know which is which until later.

Arthur Blank has given Dan Quin a vote of confidence, as you may have expected.

Blank was asked about Quinn's status in the context of an online story that mentioned numerous possible head-coaching vacancies following the 2015 season.

"I didn't read it. I didn't write it. I'm not thinking it,'' Blank said. "I don't know anything about it. And most importantly, I'm not thinking that."

[...]

"I've got complete confidence in Dan," Blank told ESPN.com following his team's 38-0 loss to the undefeated Carolina Panthers. "He's going to be a great head coach for us for many years."

On one hand, it's patently absurd that this possibility has even come up, considering we knew Dan Quinn was not inheriting the perfect roster, and that the coach the Falcons waited a long while for isn't likely to be fired 13 games in, no matter how bad some of those games have been. On the other hand, of course, the Falcons just lost 38-0 to the Panthers and look absolutely dismal, and in a churn and burn era, you have to expect the question.

For my money, Blank's being straight with us here. He likely has no plans to hire a coach that wowed the organization, even if nobody in the front office or on Quinn's staff should be feeling particularly safe at the moment. It is worth remembering that plans can change quickly even for teams with good intentions, and if the Falcons are still a smashed-in pumpkin on top of a mound of garbage in 2016, we'll have to start weighing statements like these a little more carefully.

For now, the Falcons have to endure three more weeks of the 2015 season.