Bob Sutton hired as in-game assistant coach, clock manager

The Falcons hired former Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton to be their in-game and clock management senior assistant coach, the team announced Monday.

The Falcons had expected Kyle Flood to serve in the newly created role, but he left to join Nick Saban’s staff at Alabama. Sutton was fired as Kansas City’s defensive coordinator after last season, his sixth in the position.

“Calling the defense, spending the extra time to get that right, and making sure our style and identity come across in the right way are exciting challenges,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said in a statement released by the team. “Adding someone with Bob’s knowledge and experience to assist with clock and game-management strategies will help us be the best version of the Falcons that we can be in 2019.”

The Chiefs dismissed Sutton after a loss to New England in the AFC title game. “Bob is a good football coach and a great person,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said in a statement Jan. 22. “He played an integral role in the success of our team over the last six seasons. I’ve said before that change can be a good thing, for both parties, and I believe that is the case here for the Chiefs and Bob.”

Sutton, 68, is a coaching veteran with 20 years at the NFL level.

With Quinn taking on the defensive play-calling duties, he wanted to add some administrative in-game help on the coaching staff. This is the latest move in Quinn’s retooling of his coaching staff after all three coordinators were fired Dec. 31 following a 7-9 season.

The Falcons previously announced Dirk Koetter would replace Steve Sarkisian as offensive coordinator, Ben Kotwica would replace Keith Armstrong as special teams coordinator and Mike Mularkey would replace Wade Harman as tight ends coach. In other moves, running backs coach Bernie Parmalee moved to the assistant special teams position and Dave Brock moved from assistant wide receivers coach to running backs coach.

Before joining the Chiefs, Sutton was with the New York Jets for 13 seasons. He was defensive coordinator for the Jets when Quinn was on his staff in 2007 and 2008 as defensive line coach. Before the Jets, Sutton was defensive coordinator at the U.S. Military Academy from 198390 before being named head coach in 1991. His nine-year run as head coach placed him second in tenure at West Point, trailing only Earl “Red” Blaik’s 18 seasons. During his time at Army, Sutton was named the Bobby Dodd coach of the year in 1996.

Carter signs: Veteran linebacker Bruce Carter, who provided needed depth for the Falcons last season, signed a one-year contract Monday. Carter played in 11 games last season and had 21 tackles and seven special teams tackles.

GETTY IMAGES Bob Sutton served as the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator for six seasons before being let go after Kansas City’s loss to the Patriots in the AFC Championship game in January. He has 20 years of NFL coaching experience.