Now that the Atlanta Falcons have fallen to 0-4 following Monday night’s 30-16 loss at Green Bay, it’s fair to wonder if owner Arthur Blank’s patience has finally run out with coach Dan Quinn.
Blank doesn’t have the added pressure of having to be the first to fire a coach this season. The Houston Texans own that distinction after parting ways with head coach/general manager Bill O’Brien Monday afternoon. And Blank might not make his decision immediately, being that this a short week with Carolina up next Sunday.
But Blank certainly will hear and listen to the cries of an fans base that expected much better from a team coming off back-to-back, 7-9 seasons. A handful of those same fans will be welcomed back to a limit-capacity Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday for the first time this season, with little reason to believe they’ll be watching a contender. Only one team in the Super Bowl Era — the 1992 San Diego Chargers — made the postseason following an 0-4 start.
Sure, this year’s expanded, 14-team playoff format gives the Falcons an outside chance to rally. But keep it mind the second half of the Falcons’ season includes two matchups apiece with Tom Brady‘s Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Drew Brees‘ New Orleans Saints, along with a road trip to Kansas City to face Patrick Mahomes and the reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs.
When Blank came out last December and said he would retain both Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff for at least another year while having team president Rich McKay oversee them, he did so with the expectation of the playoffs. He made clear mediocrity would not be tolerated.
Blank never figured his team would be winless after four games for the first time since the 1999 season.
Calling the Falcons mediocre is too generous, especially after they became the first team in NFL history to blow 15-plus-point, fourth-quarter leads twice in a season. It happened in consecutive losses to the Cowboys and Bears. They haven’t been able to finish games, much like that lingering hangover from Super Bowl LI after blowing that 28-3 lead over the Patriots.
Then Monday night, they couldn’t figure out how to start a game right, either, falling behind the Packers 20-3 halftime and never recovering. Miscommunication on defense, missed throws on offense, injuries and curious coaching decision all factored into the loss.
Quinn, now 43-41 as Falcons coach, is sure to take the same approach he’s been taking for weeks now: not wanting to speak specifically about his job status in an effort to keep the topic focused on team improvement. But he needs to come up with some way to convince Blank this can be turned around with a miraculous run, starting with a Week 5 matchup against Teddy Bridgewater an the surprising Carolina Panthers (2-2).
It’s hard to say if an internal coaching change now will inject more life into the listless Falcons. The interim candidates likely would be assistant head coach/linebackers Jeff Ulbrich, offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, defensive coordinator Raheem Morris, or perhaps senior defensive assistant Bob Sutton. Koetter was the last to be an NFL head coach with in Tampa Bay, while Morris also once was the head coach of the Buccaneers.
Whatever the case, the Falcons are running out of time. And Quinn is running out of answers.
Silver lining: Todd Gurley did have touchdown runs of five and three yards, the latter coming after an outstanding block by Matt Ryan — yes, Matt Ryan — on Packers safety Darnell Savage. Gurley had 57 career red-zone rushing TDs coming into the game, and now he has four such scores this season.
Troubling trend: Injuries. Receiver Julio Jones didn’t play in the second half due to the nagging left hamstring injury that had him questionable coming into the game. Starting free safety Damontae Kazee got carted off with a left Achilles injury while rookie safety Jaylinn Hawkins left the game with a concussion.
The Falcons already were down starting safeties Keanu Neal (hamstring) and Ricardo Allen (elbow). Not to mention they were without starting first-round cornerback A.J. Terrell (COVID-19) and veteran corner Darqueze Dennard (IR/hamstring). The health of the safeties, with Kazee’s season possibly over, will be worth monitoring, especially with free-agent safety Earl Thomas having history with Quinn in Seattle.