ATLANTA, GA (The Spread) – Now that Super Bowl XLIX is officially in the books, the Falcons were able to tab Seahawks’ defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as head coach.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was the first to tweet the news that the Falcons have reached an agreement with Quinn on a five-year pact. The team had to wait until the Seahawks finished their season before naming Quinn their new head coach but apparently was more than willing to wait on the former defensive coordinator. He replaces Mike Smith, who was fired after back-to-back losing seasons in Atlanta.
Quinn will take over a team in desperate need of rebuilding a defense that lacks playmakers and overall talent. He oversaw a Seattle defense that went to back-to-back Super Bowls but that also had the likes of Earl Thomas, Richard Sherman and Bobby Wager (among many others) to lean on. Quinn won’t have that kind of talent in Atlanta, at least not at the start.
The Falcons already hired Kyle Shanahan to be the offensive coordinator and will tab former Broncos linebackers coach Richard Smith as defensive coordinator. Also joining Quinn’s staff will be former Redskins secondary coach Raheem Morris, who will be an assistant head coach in charge of defensive backs.