Dan Quinn could be on the hot seat amid what has been an incredibly disappointing season for the Atlanta Falcons, and the head coach is making some significant changes down the stretch in an attempt to turn things around.
Quinn, who made his name as a defensive coordinator with the Seattle Seahawks before he was hired in Atlanta, will no longer call defensive plays for the Falcons. Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reported on Sunday that Quinn is passing that responsibility off to linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich.
#Falcons HC Dan Quinn will no longer call plays on defense. He's giving it up. LB coach Jeff Ulbrich will call plays, per @JayGlazer.
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) November 10, 2019
Quinn may be trying to save his job, as his 1-7 Falcons have been terrible defensively this season. Atlanta allowed a whopping 31.2 points per game through the first half of the regular season, which is the third-most in the NFL. The struggles come after they allowed 26.4 points per game — which placed them in the bottom third of the league — over the course of last year’s 7-9 season.
Since he watched his team suffer through one of the worst collapses in sports history, things have gotten progressively worse for Quinn in Atlanta. The Falcons lost in the divisional round of the playoffs the following season and are now going to miss the postseason for a second consecutive year. Quinn may have earned himself the benefit of the doubt with a Super Bowl run three years ago, but the team needs to show signs of life over the second half of the season.
