The Atlanta Falcons are one of two teams still searching for a head coach. There are at best two strong candidates for the positions and a slew of other emergency hires. The Falcons and Broncos have interviewed everyone and now a few things must take place before staffs begin to take shape. The Falcons are trying to be patient and get the right guy in which might mean waiting until the Seattle Seahawks have finished their season. Whoever gets hired, quarterback Matt Ryan is excited.
The Falcons are fresh off two very bad seasons. That has resulted in the firing of Mike Smith and the search for a new head coach. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the favorite for the job is Seahawks' defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. However, the Falcons cannot make the hire until Seattle's season is over which might not happen until the Super Bowl. It remains to be seen if the team can be patient as they also like Teryl Austin for the job who is the defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions.
Ryan admits that this season has been a total struggle and should be blamed on the entire team instead of just Smith. However, the quarterback is excited to get someone new in with fresh ideas for a new beginning.
"We didn't do a good enough job winning the close games," Ryan said, via the team website. "In this league, you know games are going to be close; you've got to find ways to get it done, and hopefully we'll be better at that moving forward. I'll be excited to get to meet him and get a feel for how we're going to move forward and to have to learn a little bit of a new offense. I think it'll be interesting to see how that shakes out."
The Falcons have plenty of changes that could come their way despite a new head coach and coordinators. Julio Jones is in need of a new contract as he prepares to enter the final year of his deal. The running back position will be down to just Devonta Freeman as Steven Jackson and Jacquizz Rodgers have their contracts expiring. Sean Weatherspoon and Kroy Biermann are also working on expired deals and could be asked to take a pay cut. According to most players, everyone wants to be back with the team, but a new head coach could change that.
