Guerry Clegg: Falcons' new coach knows he has work to do
Dan Quinn said all the right things, as one would expect of a man elevated to his first head coaching job.
He talked about building a defense that is "fast and physical." He talked about going to work as the Atlanta Falcons head coach as soon as he was done with his formal introduction Tuesday. He talked about evaluating every player on the roster. He talked about being fundamentally sound.
"Winning the press conference" is a term that has become vogue in this day of multi-media exposure. It's an overstated concept, really, but it sure beats the alternative and coming off as someone ill prepared for the job. Jim Tomsula was unimpressive in his introductory press conference as San Francisco's new head coach.
Quinn's first impression certainly gave the air of someone thoroughly prepared for what he's getting into taking over a team that has gone 10-22 the last two years after five consecutive winning seasons.
"All sorts of challenges ahead," Quinn said. "Lots of work to do. But I can't wait to get started."
He meant that almost literally. He planned to work well into the evening on his first day on the job.
He comes to Atlanta by way of Seattle. With the Seahawks, Quinn took an already solid defense and turned it into a beast. They did that by emphasizing effort and discipline over defensive gadgetry.
"It starts with effort first," Quinn said. "That's always the thing we will talk about at the forefront. The way we play and the way we attack will come from that. We want to play as fast and physical as we can. For us to play that style, we won't have a thousand different defenses. What we will do, it's not necessarily what we play but how we play it."
It's one thing to be able to do that with Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril up front, Bobby Wagner and Bruce Irvin in the middle and Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor in the secondary. It's doubtful he will be able to do that with the talent he inherits with the Falcons. Desmond Trufant and Robert McClain are a pair of promising young cornerbacks. Paul Worrilow was a nice free agent find at linebacker, but that's a big drop from Sean Weatherspoon, whose best days are probably behind him.
Beyond those players, Quinn might not like what he sees when he starts watching tape.
He's going to need players, and that's going to take time. There are many who thought that the two men who assembled this roster, Thomas Dimitroff and Scott Pioli, should have been the ones fired, not Mike Smith.
If nothing else, Quinn brings a fresh perspective. It's safe to assume that Dimitroff and Pioli are now on the clock and will have to give Quinn something to work with.
Give the Falcons, particularly owner Arthur Blank, credit for this much. When they identified Quinn as their top choice among seven finalists, they elected to wait for the Seahawks to finish the Super Bowl rather than settle for someone else.
"We felt so strongly that he was the best coach for us that we stayed patient, very patient, through the playoffs and Super Bowl rather than feel compelled to make a quick decision in a different direction," Blank said. "In our two meetings with Dan, he displayed a definitive plan for our football team and his description of what it would take to win. He had confidence and yet a strong sense of humility as well and a desire to work in a collaborative way across the building."
"Collaborative" is a word Blank used repeatedly, giving the sense that management and Smith had not been on the same page regarding personnel.
That's never a good thing regardless who is right. That's what happened between Ken Herock and Jerry Glanville, leading Brett Favre to become a Green Bay Packer.
Blank called Quinn "smart" and "decisive."
"The expression 'Good is the enemy of great' may have started with Dan Quinn," Blank said.
Like the Falcons, Quinn also had choices. The Bills, Jets, Bears, Broncos, 49ers and Raiders all hired head coaches. Quinn interviewed for several of those openings and was most attracted to the Falcons. Having the most stable quarterback situation certainly had to be a factor. But Quinn also said Atlanta "was the best fit."
Quinn said his priority is to get to know the players he has.
"My sole goal right now is to get to know these guys and how tight as a group we can become," he said. "The best teams that I've been a part of are the teams that are the closest. So I'm anxious to get around these guys and get to know them."
-- Guerry Clegg is an independent correspondent. You can write to him at sports@ledger-enquirer.com
This story was originally published February 3, 2015 at 8:53 PM with the headline "Guerry Clegg: Falcons' new coach knows he has work to do."