The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Report: Coordinators could be out
FLOWERY BRANCH — With the Falcons officially eliminated from the playoffs, speculation about the future has started.
“There’s a strong possibil- ity of significant changes to Dan Quinn’s #Falcons staff, including replace OC Steve Sarkisian,” NFL Network report Tom Pelissero wrote on twitter Tuesday.
On the broadcast report which aired on the net- work, which is owned by the league’s teams, both coor- dinators are mentioned as candidates to be terminated.
“It sounds like a strong possibility that there will be significant changes to coach Dan Quinn coaching staff,” Pelissero said. “Now, owner Arthur Blank has already said that he doesn’t think Quinn is the problem. My under- standing is that Dan Quinn, who got a contract extension through 2022 just last summer is absolutely going to be back. But this is a possi- bility here that he could end up cleaning out both of his coordinators. That’s offen- sive coordinator Steve Sarkisian and defensive coordi- nator Marquand Manuel. I would not be surprised if he overhauls things on both sides of the ball.”
The Falcons, through a team spokesperson, elected not to comment about the report and noted that the team, which is 5-9, was focused on the final two weeks of the season.
Sarkisian was hired in 2016 to replace Kyle Shanahan, who helped the Falcons reach Super Bowl LI. He struggled in 2017 and the offense has been statistically better in 2018.
Manuel, a former NFL player, took over last season after Quinn took over the play-calling duties from defensive coordinator Rich- ard Smith during the 2016 season.
When Quinn has been asked about his coaching staff and some players, he’s repeatedly said, “That’s a Week 17 question,” meaning that he’ll address it after the season.
After the loss to the Ravens on Dec. 2, Blank has said that he planned to take a “long view” of the football operation after the season.
“I haven’t lost any faith in Coach Quinn or (general manager) Thomas (Dimitroff ),” Blank said. “They’ll do the evaluations. They always evaluate at the end of the year. That’s what they do. They do it whether if we are 16-0 or 0-16. That’s what they do. They’ll do that again this year.”