The Falcons have had a coaching staff assembled in the shadows for weeks now, and now that the staff is mostly official, I thought it would be helpful to remind you of everyone who has been hired.
The following list is adopted from the mothership, and while it is not yet complete, it gives you a good sense of how close the Falcons are to having their large staff complete. At this point, they are missing a linebackers coach, an outside linebackers coach, a potential secondary coach, and a few assistant coaches, as well as potentially a quarterbacks coach, defensive backs coach and offensive line coach if any of the expected LaFleur, Manuel or Morgan hires fall through.
Dan Quinn |
Head Coach |
Chris Morgan |
Offensive Line Coach |
Richard Smith |
Defensive Coordinator |
Raheem Morris |
Asst. Head Coach/Def. Passing Game Coord. |
Bryan Cox |
Defensive Line Coach |
Kyle Shanahan |
Offensive Coordinator |
Bobby Turner |
Running Backs Coach |
Terry Robiskie |
Wide Receivers Coach |
Wade Harman |
Tight Ends Coach |
Mike LaFleur |
Offensive Assistant |
Marquand Manuel |
Defensive Backs Coach |
Keith Armstrong |
Special Teams Coordinator |
Eric Sutulovich |
Assistant Special Teams Coach |
Mike LaFleur is the brother of Matt LaFleur, the Notre Dame quarterbacks coach who may well be hired in that same capacity in Atlanta. My mistake there, as I originally confused Mike with Matt.
That's a quality list of coaches, however. There's a mix of gentlemen new to their roles (Dan Quinn as head coach, Richard Smith as defensive coordinator) and those with long experience (Keith Armstrong at special teams coordinator, Wade Harman in his natural role as a tight ends coach). The Falcons have smartly retained a handful of their best coaches, including Terry Robiskie, Armstrong and Harman, affording some position groups a level of a continuity that could be helpful as Quinn takes on his first head coaching job.
Stay tuned for closer looks at Raheem Morris, Richard Smith and Dan Quinn, in particular, in the coming days, as well as the hiring of the last few coaches.