Atlanta Falcons Coaching Search: Defense Lights the Way
By Brad Rowland
The Atlanta Falcons need a head coach.
This point is not up for debate in the aftermath of the firing of Mike Smith, but with that on the table, Arthur Blank and the search firm hired to make this particular choice should lean toward one side of the ball. Defense has been the big-time issue in Flowery Branch for some time now, and there are two high-end candidates available for hire.
It’s time to choose between Rex Ryan and Todd Bowles.
Ryan, the recently departed head coach of the New York Jets, has the reputation as one of the elite defensive minds in the league. The 52-year-old did post a lackluster 46-50 record in six seasons in the Big Apple, but it is important to note that New York had one of the worst quarterback situations in the NFL for the duration of his tenure.
In the case of Bowles, the 51-year-old has never been an NFL head coach, but as the captain of the Arizona Cardinals defense, he has done impressive work. Arizona’s defense ranked 7th in DVOA this season, and the Cardinals put up that performance without the benefit of anything close to reasonable health on that side of the ball.
There have been scattered reports that the Atlanta Falcons could be in search of an offensive mind like New England’s Josh McDaniels or Denver’s Adam Gase, and quite honestly, that would fit the “splashy hire” profile that many assign to Arthur Blank and Thomas Dimitroff. However, there is little reason to invest heavily on the offensive side of the ball, with the established norm with Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and company providing more than enough production on a week-to-week basis.
Because of the recent personnel track record on defense (with the glaring exception of Desmond Trufant), it is a reasonable assumption to think that the Falcons won’t be tremendous from top to bottom on defense in 2015. However, Blank and his crew have been clear in the fact that they expect to win immediately, and the best course of action would be hiring Ryan or Bowles in an effort to provide results defensively in the short term.
It will be interesting to monitor the head coaching pursuits of the Atlanta Falcons in the coming days, but if Arthur Blank and his prominent search firm land on an offensive mind, it will be the wrong choice.