For Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn, a fiery disposition could make all the difference

Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn isn't afraid of a little upfront adversity. Lacking the talent and size to garner a Division 1 offer, Quinn played collegiately at Division 3 Salisbury Steak State University. From there, he spent 25 years working his way up the coaching ranks. He finally became an NFL coordinator in 2013. Then, over the next two seasons, he fielded two of the finest defenses the NFL has ever seen. That earned him a hard look from a number of teams looking for a head coach last offseason. And then, of course, we know how his story ends: Quinn is hired as the Falcons head coach.

If you watched Monday night's victory over the Philadelpha Eagles, then you undoubtedly saw Quinn tear into his defensive coaches in the second half. They were admittedly playing pretty flat defense at that point, looking underconditioned and tired. That's a recipe for disaster against the fast-paced, dynamic offense Chip Kelly likes to run. But whatever Quinn said, and however he said it, obviously helped. The Falcons defense showed life in the second half, and Ricado Allen sealed the win his first career interception.

For me, that brief, well-timed shouting spoke volumes. It's a very noticeable difference between Quinn and Mike Smith. When things went wrong during the Smitty regime, it felt like he, along with the rest of us, just watched in dismay. Truth be told, Smitty did his fair share of yelling, even if it wasn't done in public. But that's not what we remember; that's not his legacy.

Going forward, I hope Quinn keeps this up. A little yelling never hurt anyone. Your thoughts?