Falcons coach not afraid to get advice

Coach Dan Quinn has received the advice and counsel of Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr and Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona on how to deal with the franchise’s devastating loss in the Super Bowl.

Kerr and Quinn met in 2013 when Quinn was with Seattle.

Kerr’s team blew a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals last season as the Cleveland Cavaliers won their first league title.

“He called and said, ‘Hey, man, I recognize. We were up 3-1,’” Quinn said when speaking to reporters at the owners meeting in Arizona on Wednesday. “When we go battle for it, that’s the world that we live in. It’s like competing for those championships is as much fun as you can have.”

Quinn has moved on from the plays that happened in the game and whether the Falcons should have run the ball once they reached the 22-yard line with a chance to go up by two scores.

He talked with Kerr and Francona and others with an eye toward to the 2017 season.

“It’s just like, ‘Hey, man, I’m here to talk. I know what those dark nights are like and what that feels like,’” Quinn said about his initial call from Kerr. “‘If you want to talk about it, give me a call.’”

The Indians also blew a 3-1 lead in the World Series to the Chicago Cubs.

“Getting a chance to visit with those guys, I just wanted to hear their experience about talking to the team,” Quinn said. “I talked to (general manager) R.C. Buford at San Antonio, too. They had a difficult loss to Miami and then came back to beat them the next year.

“In other sports, there are some guys to talk to. I obviously talked to coach (Pete) Carroll; he’s somebody that’s been a mentor for me for a long time now. It has to be in your own way.”

There wasn’t a common message, but Quinn hoped to glean some knowledge on how to handle the team moving forward. The Falcons start their offseason conditioning program April 17.

“I can’t wait for the guys to get back into our building and kick it off for 2017,” Quinn said.