Collapse leads to Falcons shakeup
Dismiss defensive co-ordinator and line coach
FLOWERY BRANCH, GA. — After squandering a 25-point lead in the Super Bowl, the Atlanta Falcons are shaking up their defensive staff.
The team said Wednesday that coach Dan Quinn has dismissed co-ordinator Richard Smith and defensive line coach Bryan Cox, though there’s a chance Smith could stay with the Falcons in an advisory role.
The changes mean the NFC champions will have two new co-ordinators next season.
Kyle Shanahan left to become head coach of the San Francisco 49ers and was replaced as offensive co-ordinator by Steve Sarkisian.
Also, the Falcons will need a new quarterbacks coach. Matt LaFleur is expected to be named offensive co-ordinator of the Los Angeles Rams.
Smith will likely be replaced by a coach already on staff. The Falcons are considering defensive backs coach Marquand Manuel, linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich, and defensive passing game co-ordinator Jerome Henderson. Manuel interviewed for the defensive co-ordinator post in Jacksonville last season.
The 61-year-old Smith served as defensive co-ordinator during Quinn’s first two seasons in Atlanta, after previously working as a linebackers coach in Denver. He has more than a quarter-century of National Football League coaching experience.
Under Smith, the Falcons showed significant improvement over the second half of the season and two playoff victories with a unit that often started as many four rookies and four second-year players.
But in the Super Bowl, Atlanta couldn’t protect a 28-3 lead midway through the third quarter. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots scored 31 consecutive points for the greatest comeback in title game history, winning 34-28 in overtime.
The Patriots piled up 546 yards and a staggering 37 first downs while running more than twice as many plays as Atlanta, 93-46. Brady, the game’s MVP, completed 43 of 62 passes for 466 yards and two TDs. In addition, New England made two straight two-point conversions to force the first overtime game in Super Bowl history.
The 48-year-old Cox had been with the Falcons for three seasons. He was a holdover from Mike Smith’s staff when Quinn took over in 2015.
Cox played in the NFL for 12 years, earning three trips to the Pro Bowl.