2022 Coaching Candidates

[lomaxgrUK]

2 hours ago, 1234567 said:

Kyle Shanahan blew everyone away in his interview here too, and you saw how bad we screwed that one up. That's what we do best. I would have been fine with Gannon or Hackett. Instead, my gut tells me that we're going to go with Quinn, a man who's track record as a D-Coord far exceeds his success as a HC. Maybe he's learned from his Falcons tenure, but to me he seems like another Wade Phillips. Players love him, can coach a hell of a defense, but just doesn't have it as a head coach. I have a feeling we're about to find out. 

The guy got to a Superbowl, and was only thwarted by the best QB of all time. With the way that game ended, his tenure was done from that point onwards. There was no recovering from that.

But let's not act like he was an abject failure. That Falcons team was a well built and well coached team.

[Broncofan]

5 hours ago, germ-x said:

Allbright doesn’t seem to think it matters.  Said most of the initial interviews went long.  

Also, doesn’t really seem to have an explanation as to why Gannon wasn’t a finalist.  Said Gannon’s blown everyone away in the interview process. 

 

2 hours ago, 1234567 said:

Kyle Shanahan blew everyone away in his interview here too, and you saw how bad we screwed that one up. That's what we do best. I would have been fine with Gannon or Hackett. Instead, my gut tells me that we're going to go with Quinn, a man who's track record as a D-Coord far exceeds his success as a HC. Maybe he's learned from his Falcons tenure, but to me he seems like another Wade Phillips. Players love him, can coach a hell of a defense, but just doesn't have it as a head coach. I have a feeling we're about to find out. 

A closer look at Gannon’s work shows that he may be experiencing the 1 year wonder effect: 

-1 year as Philly DC - where they went from 19th in PPG / YPG to 11th (pts) and 9th looks great on paper.   But Phi faced a 4th place schedule in 2021 and a 1st place schedule in 2020.  Even in the awful 2020 NFC East Philly had the 14th hardest schedule - in 2021 they had the 29th (Denver had the 31st FWIW).   So the improvements on paper aren’t nearly so impressive.    By DVOA Philly actually regressed from 15th to 25th.  
 

-His prior work was as DB coach in Minny from 2014-2017 and Indy from 2018-2020.    While both D were mostly well-regarded the secondaries were actually the weak points.   And in Minny this was despite fair investments in the draft.  
 

-Watching Philly play the D succeeded by having great front 4 play.  But if the front 4 couldn’t generate pressure the Eagles D didn’t have great adjustments.   That’s a big flag when it comes to translating performance to a HC level.  
 

Honestly from his actual credentials Gannon looks like a paper tiger.   If this analysis is accurate - if Gannon stays as DC and the personnel remains largely unchanged then I’d expect the Philly D to regress next year (although maybe those 3 1sts help address the holes they have).    
 

Of course we only get an incomplete picture so it’s all conjecture.   But when you compare Gannon’s actual results in full context and watch the games the actual results he’s responsible for overseeing are really underwhelming.   Add in that he’s only had 1 year as a coordinator I can see why Paton passed.    
 

If Gannon could repeat his success with a 2nd year and against better competition, and show in-game adaptability or scheme changes in-season when required - then he becomes a far more compelling candidate.   He may be a fantastic interview but the results don’t really scream must-hire guy yet.    
 

If ppl contrast the Gannon single year as DC and full context to O’Connell’s 2 years of success as LAR OC and the 3 major changes to the O scheme that he’s overseen in response to personnel fit / changes (OL better fit to gap / power last year, Stafford replacing Goff this offseason and OBJ replacing Woods in-season) it’s night and day.   That kind of adaptability is what you want in future HC’s.     Then add in the fact McVay blocked LAC’s request to interview O’Connell as OC last year speaks to how highly thought of O’Connell is regarded internally.

The more digging I do on O’Connell the more impressive he looks.    If I’m Paton I see why he’d want to wait to finish the interviews.   I’m good with all 3 guys (as long as Quinn is paired with the right OC - a MASSIVE no on Bevell as OC), but O’Connell’s work behind the scenes in adapting the O to personnel suggests a skill set that is well suited to HC, combined with high level OC ability.   

Edited January 25, 2022 by Broncofan

[Broncofan]

32 minutes ago, lomaxgrUK said:

The guy got to a Superbowl, and was only thwarted by the best QB of all time. With the way that game ended, his tenure was done from that point onwards. There was no recovering from that.

But let's not act like he was an abject failure. That Falcons team was a well built and well coached team.

As long as Quinn is paired with a progressive and aggressive OC and has fixed his game management weaknesses, it totally works.   I’m definitely ok in that scenario.  
 

If it’s Darrell Bevell as OC then we’re back into the post-SB era problems (Sark as OC was a disaster he really limited the O there post-Shanny departure).   That’s very much a hard pass.   If anything Bevell should be on the blacklist for his repeated failures as OC - underwhelmed in SEA and totally flamed out in DET (which we appreciate how much Stafford was hamstrung there now), and then JAX this year.   Bevell has had 3 chances and shown zero growth and massive flaws.  He should NEVER get another OC interview again.   He’s as bad as Shurmur and you could argue as bad as Gase / Nagy (all-time level hard pass OC guys).  
 

Fortunately I haven’t read that anywhere from insiders so it might be uninformed connect-the-dots speculation from past hires.  If Quinn actually have that as his plan it should seriously disqualify him as a candidate.   Bevell is that bad.  Again no credible DEN insider (Allbright, Renck, Klis - still reliable for news) actually reported this AFAIK so that’s hopeful.   If Quinn has a more progressive OC choice then it’s all good.  

Edited January 25, 2022 by Broncofan

[Broncofan]

Re: Quinn & Bevell - the only sources I see are CHI online guys purely speculating.  And no insiders there either.   I think it’s clickbait.   It certainly would diminish the evaluation of Quinn if it’s real but nothing tangible says this is the case.  

[broncos67]

Anyone dismissing Quinn just wants to hire an offensive coach and should be open and honest about that. Because when it comes to success/hardware, Quinn has more than any coach we've looked at. He shut down the high powered Manning offense, and was *this* close to winning as HC with Atlanta. He would be an excellent hire for this team. Whether it's the ideal hire, we won't know until it happens (or doesn't).

[1234567]

5 hours ago, lomaxgrUK said:

The guy got to a Superbowl, and was only thwarted by the best QB of all time. With the way that game ended, his tenure was done from that point onwards. There was no recovering from that.

But let's not act like he was an abject failure. That Falcons team was a well built and well coached team.

Quinn did nothing with that team after Shanahan left. Kyle took that team to the Super Bowl, not Quinn. 

[broncos67]

19 minutes ago, 1234567 said:

Quinn did nothing with that team after Shanahan left. Kyle took that team to the Super Bowl, not Quinn. 

What a joke of a statement.

[champ11]

i think Xs and Os are more valuable in football than other pro sports, obviously. but I am a huge believer in organizational synergy and the HC setting a culture for the organization. i think both Fangio and VJ (+management) were massive failures in that regard. we finally have a chance to get it right and turn this organization around - I think Dan Quinn (+ Paton) looks like a guy that would be a great leader for the organization. i am excited in general because I think this is a turning point for the org. 

[germ-x]

6 minutes ago, broncos67 said:

What a joke of a statement.

I don’t have an issue with Quinn.  Think he’d be a good hire.  Well liked and experienced.  Definitely the safest option.

I do think he’s getting a little bit overhyped on the job he did in Atlanta than is maybe deserved.  Yes, he did make a SB which is no easy feat, but the reality is over 6 years he had a .500 record with 2 winning seasons.  

[paul-mac]

4 minutes ago, germ-x said:

I don’t have an issue with Quinn.  Think he’d be a good hire.  Well liked and experienced.  Definitely the safest option.

I do think he’s getting a little bit overhyped on the job he did in Atlanta than is maybe deserved.  Yes, he did make a SB which is no easy feat, but the reality is over 6 years he had a .500 record with 2 winning seasons.  

And over the last 6 years, we have a .400 record with 1 winning season (which in itself we finished 3-5 and missed the playoffs)

 

We’ve not even had a poor roster for that period. It’s a combination of inadequate QBs and bad coaching.
 

I think what Quinn has proved is that he coaches in accordance to the talent level of his team. Give him a crappy team and he coaches them to a crappy record. Give him a great team and he contends with them. He won’t elevate his team like the greats do, but I don’t see any of them available at this juncture, so a Quinn type is the best we can hope for unless we want to take a punt on a young guy and hope he can be the next McVay/Kyle Shanahan.

 

We have a talented team and if Paton can even get competent QB play (Jimmy G etc) then I expect Quinn would turn us in to a very strong wildcard contender. If we manage to land Rodgers or Wilson then I think Quinn could win the Super Bowl with that QB. 

[1234567]

1 hour ago, broncos67 said:

What a joke of a statement.

Bro, his record after Shanahan left was 24-29 with three straight losing seasons including the one where he got fired after starting 0-5. Shanahan’s 33 ppg offense is the reason they went to the SB that year, not Quinn’s coaching. Sorry, but it’s the truth. 

[AnAngryAmerican]

13 minutes ago, 1234567 said:

Bro, his record after Shanahan left was 24-29 with three straight losing seasons including the one where he got fired after starting 0-5. Shanahan’s 33 ppg offense is the reason they went to the SB that year, not Quinn’s coaching. Sorry, but it’s the truth. 

Kyle was no doubt a huge factor in that team's success - he won Assistant Coach of the Year for the SB season - but to say it was all Kyle and Quinn gets no credit is too far for me. 

[broncos67]

30 minutes ago, 1234567 said:

Bro, his record after Shanahan left was 24-29 with three straight losing seasons including the one where he got fired after starting 0-5. Shanahan’s 33 ppg offense is the reason they went to the SB that year, not Quinn’s coaching. Sorry, but it’s the truth. 

I forgot you were in the room, but thankful that you were to shed some light on Quinn's coaching bona fides for us!

[germ-x]

Just to be clear, I don’t an an issue hiring Dan Quinn.  He gives me a John Fox vibe and Fox was a heck of a coach.  I just really haven’t seen any type of deeper dive into his career and with him being the most experienced candidate with the longest track record, I figured I would.

Some of this is pretty interesting actually, even outside of the Quinn connection. 

1. Dan Quinn didn’t create the “Legion of Boom.”  The year before becoming the Seahawks DC, Gus Bradley led that unit to the #1 points against defense in football.  The year before that they were 7th.

2. In Quinn’s 2 years as DC Seattle finished 1st in points against both years.  The year after he left to become an HC Keith Richard took over as DC and also finished 1st in points allowed, in his 2nd year as DC Seattle finished 3rd.

3. For 4 straight years Seattle finished 1st in points allowed under 3 defensive coordinators, Bradley, Quinn, Richard.

4. Quinn replaced Mike Smith as the HC of the Falcons.  It was Mike Smith’s only HC gig in the NFL, in 7 years he had a 66-46 record and a 1-4 record in the playoffs.

5. Quinn took over a 6-10 team that finished 12th in points for and 27th in points against.

6. Quinn took over a roster that had Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Jake Matthews, Patrick DiMarco, Levine Toilolo, Ryan Schraeder, Tyson Jackson, Robert Alford, Desmond Trufant, and Jonathan Babineaux who were starters in Mike Smith’s last year and also started on the SB team under Quinn.

7.  DeVonta Freeman and Ricardo Allen were also 2014 draft picks when Mike Smith was HC who were starters for Quinn in the SB.  Making 13 of 22 starters for Atlanta’s SB players acquired under Mike Smith.

8. Atlanta’s 1st round picks while Quinn was HC.  2015- Vic Beasley, 2016- Keanu Neal, 2017- Tak McKinnley, 2018- Calvin Ridley, 2019- Chris Lindstrom and Caleb McGary, 2020- AJ Terrell.

9.  2015 under Quinn Atlanta was 21st in points for and 14 in points against.  2016- (SB year) 1st points for 27th against.  2017- 15th for and 8th against. 2018- 10th for and 25th against.  2019- 13th for 23rd against.  2020- 16th for 19th against.

10. Dan Quinn finished his time in Atlanta with a 43-42 record and a 3-2 playoff record.  He had 2 winning seasons out of 6 making the playoffs twice and reaching and losing the SB in 2016 which goes down as one of the biggest 2nd half collapses in sports history.

11. Quinn has coached in 3 SBs and won 1 of them as a DC with the Seahawks in which they shut down the best offense in football.

12. Quinn became Dallas’ DC in 2021 leading a turnaround by taking the 28th points against defense in football in 2020 and turning it into the 7th.

[jolly red giant]