Dan Quinn getting used to balancing new duties at helm of Falcons defense

With June mandatory minicamp in the books, the Atlanta Falcons have a better idea of what they have to work with heading into the rest of the summer months.

We focus on the players, of course, but how’s head coach Dan Quinn doing with his new responsibilities?

He has, after all, taken over as the defensive coordinator on top of his head coaching duties, and per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Steve Hummer, it sounds like he used minicamp to get more comfortable in those roles.

“These three days (of minicamp) have been helpful for me especially, being more a typical in-week schedule,” Quinn said. “I spent a good bit of time with the defense, special teams. The parts I wanted to connect with offensively, I was able to.

“It was important for me to find my rhythm this week with a new schedule.”

This is very encouraging just from a natural standpoint. This is Quinn’s first time with so many hats to wear, so it’ll be imperative for him to gel with these new duties.

He’ll also have to learn to lean on his fellow coaches to run their side of the show while he takes a much more hands-on approach with the defense. He mentioned the trust he has in his offensive coaches, three of whom (Dirk Koetter, Raheem Morris, Mike Mularkey) have head coaching experience.

“They are in such good hands (on offense), I don’t want to get in there too far,” Quinn said. “I want to make sure I have a connection with players and our style and the attitude stays right. The biggest impact is on the special teams side and the defensive side. I try to budget more time towards that role.”

It’ll be great for Quinn to take advantage of this time to get used to thing before training camp starts, and we’re all hoping this is the solution that solves a few key issues that have hampered the DQ Falcons in the past.