Falcons’ Dan Quinn mics up his defense to fix communication issues

Falcons head coach Dan Quinn is not a perfect coach. Ask any Falcons fan to list off his issues and you could get a very depressing list. I don’t want to rehash that here, because this recent article from Robert Klemko at si.com presents a trait in Dan Quinn that I personally find admirable, and critically important: his willingness to try different things to get the result his looking for.

Quinn has been known to emphasize communication when it comes to his defense. He preaches all the time about how critical it is for his guys to know what the others are seeing and thinking. Yet, in 2018, when key leaders like Ricardo Allen, Keanu Neal and Deion Jones were lost, the communication was one of the very first things to fall apart, and understandably so.

This year, though, Quinn was determined to make sure that didn’t happen again. As Klemko writes in his piece, the head coach decided he was going to use mics to make sure his defensive players are communicating effectively. The mics are typically used for media hits so that fans can watch videos of their favorite players talking/yelling/grunting during practices and games. Quinn repurposed those mics to become a part of his defensive meetings.

By putting the mic on players all over the defense, Quinn could later analyze what the guys were saying while on the field — and if they were saying anything at all. So far, it appears to be working. Ricardo Allen noted that even the defensive linemen have begun to chatter more.

The article isn’t too long and is worth your time. For all of his flaws, Dan Quinn has proven he is willing to try nearly anything to improve his team. All things considered, that’s a great trait for a head coach to have.