Apparently, starting the season 1-7 for a team that had preseason playoff aspirations isn’t enough to get you fired, at least not yet. After the Atlanta Falcons lost to the Seahawks 27-20 on Sunday to fall to 1-7 on the season, owner Arthur Blank said he would take next week’s bye to evaluate the job status of head coach Dan Quinn. However, he said that a coaching change doesn’t appear to be imminent.
“I would say, much like the coaches said, I’m extraordinarily disappointed in the season,” Blank said. “Nobody would have anticipated 1-7, and the lack of consistency.”
Blank went on to praise the coaching staff, which includes three former head coaches. He also recognized wide receiver Julio Jones, who spoke passionately after last week’s blowout loss to the Rams about how the players were responsible for the team’s poor record and not the coaches. More than anything, Blank seemed unsure of the right move and doesn’t want to rush to change just for the sake of change.
“We are going to do something,” said Blank. “We’re going to continue to think really hard and evaluate everything that we can do, as an owner and as a senior management team, and figure out if there’s anything we can do to make some decisions any earlier or any later that would help the process. But we have no plans of making any change right now.”
The Falcons are just a few years removed from playing in the Super Bowl under Quinn. Blank also acknowledged that the team was close to reaching the NFC Championship Game the following season as well. However, after last year’s injury-plagued 7-9 season and a 1-7 start this year, Quinn’s time could be running out. However, Blank doesn’t appear to be in a rush to make a mid-season coaching change, giving Quinn a little more time to prove he deserves the chance to stay.