Falcons hire Steve Sarkisian as new offensive co-ordinator
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — After only one game as Alabama’s offensive co-ordinator, Steve Sarkisian is heading to the NFL.
To work with MVP quarterback Matt Ryan and the league’s highest-scoring offence, no less.
Less than 24 hours after Kyle Shanahan left to become head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, the Falcons announced Tuesday that Sarkisian would be his replacement.
The stunning move came with Sarkisian less than a month into what was to be his first full season running Alabama’s offence, a job he took over for the national championship game in place of Lane Kiffin. But Falcons coach Dan Quinn said he’s had his eye on Sarkisian since last spring, figuring it was only a matter of time before Shanahan moved on to a team of his own.
“I knew how good Kyle is,” Quinn said. “I wanted to make sure I had contingency plans in place.”
The two have known each other since Sarkisian coached at Washington and Quinn was Seattle’s defensive co-ordinator. Sarkisian stopped by Atlanta last year to check out the Falcons’ offseason workouts, as well as training camp.
Even though Sarkisian has only one year of pro experience, Quinn expects a smooth transition for the new co-ordinator, who is familiar with many of the wide zone blocking schemes that worked so well for Atlanta on its way to the Super Bowl.
“We love the way we attack,” Quinn said. “It took a lot of work to put that system in place. We have a real emphasis on the personnel and how we can feature the guys in that system. So it’s very important that we stay consistent with that.”
Sarkisian will certainly have plenty of weapons at his disposal.
Ryan threw for 4,944 yards and 38 touchdowns to become the first Falcons player to win the MVP award. Julio Jones is one of the league’s top receivers, an All-Pro who caught 83 passes for 1,409 yards. Devonta Freeman earned Pro Bowl recognition with his second straight 1,000-yard rushing season, teaming with Tevin Coleman to give Atlanta a dynamic backfield pairing. In all, 13 players caught touchdown passes, an NFL record.