FanPost

What is really going on with Dan Quinn and why Bruce Irvin wasn't even offered a contract and more

Hello everyone, I will make this short and sweet but also understand that this is only a 'theory'. I have seen folks come on here and other platforms and complain that Dan Quinn isn't a good Head Coach because he hasn't spent a ton of one on one time with his defense, especially the guys up front such as Vic Beasley, Takk McKinley and Grady Jarrett. Here are a few things to note before rushing to this conclusion: First, Quinn has 53 players on the active roster and 10 on the practice squad that equally require his attention. He also has to ensure his assistants are up to speed on the weekly game plan as well ensuring players are taken care of, so automatically that eliminates any real time between games to get hands on with guys. Second and most importantly, Quinn lost both his starting safeties, his Pro Bowl middle linebacker, starting Pro Bowl running back and his left guard within a three week span to start the season, so any attention he had to provide had to be allocated to getting their replacements up to speed so he could at least put a product on the field. Again where is the time to work with the guys up front? One of the reason Bruce Irvin was brought in, was because he could provide an instant impact but also, his veteran leadership could essentially take the pressure off Quinn and his staff to get the defensive line trending upward. He provided stability for the defensive line. What's interesting is, Irvin wasn't even offered a contract, which on the surface seems odd, yet it makes sense and here's how. Quinn did a complete overhaul of his assistants, however he kept most of the positional coaches with the exception of Bryant Young who was the defensive line coach. This tells me Quinn has faith in his staff, however he did not believe his coordinators were effective enough to put his guys in positions that featured their strengths. Now that Quinn is the defensive coordinator, he will essentially be the one coaching up the defensive line even though Jess Simpson was hired from Miami to be the defensive line coach after Bryant Young stepped down. That tells you Quinn trust no one but himself to coach up the unit. It also explains why he elected not to retain Irvin. Why bring back Irvin to be a coach on the field when Quinn himself is going to be hands on with the unit. It also explains the drafting of John Cominsky, Quinn's quotes about working with Beasley and the resigning of Ra'Shede Hageman whom was actually having success with Quinn before his domestic violence situation unfolded which lead to his release from the team. The crazy thing is, it was reported that Quinn and Thomas Dimitroff had a meeting with owner Arthur Blank about bringing the 6'6, 318 defensive tackle back. That tells you, Quinn really wants to get his hands personally on him. Yes the team has Jess Simpson as its defensive line coach, but I believe that is only in title, Quinn is going to be the conductor of that train. Coaching matters in this league and unfortunately the Falcons haven’t seen much of it which is why Quinn overhauled the entire staff. There is no reason why this defense should have been this bad with the pieces it had and currently has. At worst this unit should be around average which coupled with Matt Ryan and the offense is a legit Super Bowl contender. Quinn understands this, having coached one of the greatest defenses in league history in Seattle 2013 and 2014. He understands what's at stake and what it takes to be a winner, and he is doing what must be done to reach that end goal. Don't believe any of this? Quinn hired former Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton to be his senior assistant that will manage in game situations and the clock which again gives him more flexibility to be hands on with his players. He also has two former head coaches that have coached Matt Ryan as offensive coordinators and retained another in Gregg Knapp, so he won't have to get all that involved in the offense. All of this shapes out for Quinn to be 100% hands on with his defense, especially his defensive linemen which has been an underwhelming and frankly underdeveloped group for quite some time. Only time will tell, but this could end up being the defining year of Quinn's career.



<em>This FanPost was written by one of The Falcoholic's talented readers. It does not necessarily reflect the views of The Falcoholic.</em>