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If the Falcons wanted yet another reason to spend this offseason trying to build a formidable defense, the coaching hires (and likely hires) around the NFL provide one.
Thus far in 2015, as my colleague Rich Hill at Pats Pulpit pointed out this morning, nearly every leading candidate for an NFL coaching gig has an offensive background. Here's the list, which I'm stealing (gratefully) from him:
Giants - Promoted OC Ben McAdooBuccaneers - Expected to promote OC Dirk Koetter49ers - Front runners are former OC Mike Shanahan, and offensive minded Tom Coughlin
It's not yet known what the Eagles are going to do, but Coughlin looks like their top candidate, as well. With the exception of the Giants, who are a pretty quality offense in search of a better defense, all of these teams have had well-documented offensive struggles over the last couple of years, and even if they don't turn into terrific teams overnight, they figure to be better on that side of the ball. You'll note that the Falcons will be playing some of these teams in 2016, too.
With most of the NFL's rules still favoring offenses, these new hires, and the Falcons' continuously woeful pass rush and linebacker play costing them big a few times in 2015, this is just another incentive for Atlanta to build a formidable unit at last.