Atlanta Falcons have a number of head coaching possibilities
As the Atlanta Falcons continue their search for a head coach to replace the departed Mike Smith, the names continue to pile up.
Three potential coaches have already been interviewed. Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase was interviewed Friday, as well as New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn had his interview with the Falcons on Sunday.
All of this comes from D. Orlando Ledbetter’s story with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which you can read here.
Even after conducting those interviews, the search is about to get even crazier as the team is set to hold five additional interviews this week–and they could always add to that number before the week’s end.
The biggest name of the entire group, former New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan, is scheduled to interview today, while Todd Bowles, Teryl Austin, Doug Marrone and Keith Armstrong have had meetings arranged as well.
More from Atlanta Falcons
- Atlanta Falcons Yet Again Making a Terrible Move Signing Matt Schaub
- Atlanta Falcons Must Make This Off-Season Move
- Dan Quinn’s Press Conference Was Filled With Notable Moments. Here’s Some Highlights.
- Atlanta Falcons Re-Sign Kicker Younghoe Koo In Solid Move
- Atlanta Falcons: Is Devonta Freeman’s Time With Falcons Over?
Here’s a list of all of the potential candidates at the moment with their current/former jobs:
- Adam Gase (Denver offensive coordinator)
- Josh McDaniels (New England offensive coordinator)
- Dan Quinn (Seattle defensive coordinator)
- Rex Ryan (New York Jets head coach)
- Todd Bowles (Arizona defensive coordinator)
- Teryl Austin (Detroit defensive coordinator)
- Doug Marrone (Buffalo Bills head coach)
- Keith Armstrong (Atlanta special teams coordinator)
While I’m no NFL expert, I’d say that’s a pretty solid list of candidates to start with and there seem to be a number of different directions that the organization could take depending on who the head coach eventually becomes. It will be interesting to see how attractive Atlanta is to the top coaching candidates as the search develops, but with an offense centered around Matt Ryan and Julio Jones, I would assume the Falcons will be able to pull in one of their top choices.
Many people have argued that the Falcons should bring in a defensive-minded coach to turn Atlanta’s NFL-worst passing defense around, including our very own Brad Rowland.
Simply because of Ryan’s notoriety around the league, he’s become a popular name to talk about, and it does seem far-fetched to think that he could somehow ruin an offense bolstered by the quarterback and WR1 that Atlanta boasts. At the same time, there are many who would prefer to keep Ryan’s… antics far away from Flowery Branch.
With so many interviews still on the horizon for the Falcons, it will likely be a while before a new head coach is named. In the meantime, which names stick out to you? Who, of this list, would you prefer to have calling the shots next season?