Seattle Seahawks: Why Dan Quinn is perfect for Atlanta Falcons

Reports have come out that the Atlanta Falcons are holding out for a second interview with the Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. Is he the favorite to land the job and should the Falcons be waiting for him?

Based on the other options on the table, absolutely. In fact, it would be an ideal marriage for both parties. The Falcons already had one of the more-coveted openings for head coaches. Now openings are wearing thin as the San Francisco 49ers promoted Jim Tomsula, the New York Jets brought on Todd Bowles, Rex Ryan shuffled off to Buffalo and the Oakland Raiders hired Jack Del Rio.

Besides the Falcons, the remaining openings lies with the Chicago Bears and Denver Broncos along with the Falcons. Similar to the Bills and Jets, there may be a quarterback issue with the Bears. John Elway could also be having a huge rebuilding project after laying off the coaching staff and potentially moving on from Peyton Manning.

Atlanta isn’t ideal, but it could be the best situation left. Speculation is swirling around why general manager Thomas Dimitroff still has his job as the roster has underperformed in the last few seasons. For the Falcons, it’s also the best candidate if they really narrowed things down to three coaches.

With Bowles now out of the question, it’s down to Quinn and Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. Nothing against Austin, but Quinn has the resume of working with the “Legion of Boom” and one of the best defenses in the NFL in the past three years. Opponents average around a 60-to-40 pass-to-rush ratio against the Seahawks, and nothing seems to work. Seattle is in the top five league-wiese in the following categories.

• Opponent yards per rush: 3.5 yards (2nd)
• Opponent rushes per game: 24.2 attempts (5th)
• Opponent rushing yards per game: 84.5 yards (4th)
• Opponent rushing first downs per game: 4.5 FDs (3rd)
• Opponent yards per pass: 5.9 yards (3rd)
• Opponent passes per game: 31.9 attempts (1st)
• Opponent passing yards per game: 188.2 yards (1st)

Dec 21, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman (25) celebrates his fourth quarter interception against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Seahawks defeated the Cardinals 35-6. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Not many teams have been able to have success against the Seahawks defense. In the first half of the season, three teams did pass well on them. Phillip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers had the perfect system to exploit the defense. Rivers finished that game missing on just nine of 37 passing attempts with 284 yards and three touchdowns. They had the ball for over 40 minutes and ran nearly double the amount of plays (75 to 40).

Dallas found more success on the ground in their win thanks to DeMarco Murray’s 115-yard game. Again, they dominated time of possession (over 37 minutes) and ran over 20 more plays. They overcame two fumbles in the win. St. Louis won in the next week in a crazy 28-26 game that was mainly due to Austin Davis’ insane completion percentage (17-of-20).

After starting out 3-3 on the season, Seattle lost just a road game at Kansas City in their next 10 games in the regular season. The defense gave up 11.3 points on average per game and didn’t let an opponent score in double digits in five of the last six games.

Quinn is going to get a head coaching job. If it’s not going to be with the Falcons, the Bears and Broncos will certainly be calling. It’s a perfect situation for both parties and since both are holding out for a chance to meet again, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear the announcement soon.

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