Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn will be named the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons the day after the Super Bowl according to a report in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Quinn had a second interview with the Falcons in Seattle on Monday, and it has been reported for more than a week that he would likely end up with that job. According to the AJC report, Quinn will make Raheem Morris his defensive coordinator, which is good news for the Seahawks, because it means Quinn won’t be hiring a coordinator off of Seattle’s current staff—though that doesn’t necessarily mean Quinn won’t take any assistants from Seattle with him to Atlanta.
Quinn declined to discuss the Atlanta job or the interview when asked about it earlier in the week, saying only, “I had a great time with all the teams throughout the process, and really now the focus is right back here on this game. Thanks for asking.”
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, who openly encourages his assistants to aspire to be head coaches if that’s their desire, said he wasn’t worried about any distractions that come with Quinn pursuing the Atlanta job.
“It comes along with the good fortune that guys get good opportunities like that,” Carroll said. “I am pretty wide open and flexible about making sure that it works out, and that it won’t be a distraction. There will be questions and stuff like that that will come up, but we have such a big mission that we are on and Dan wants nothing more than doing exactly right to help us do what we have to do these next couple of days and the next week. He has no intention other than that, he is dead solid on that, so that’s what we will get, but some logical questions will come out.”
Asked what about Quinn would make him a good head coach, Carroll said, “Dan has tremendous character. He has great leadership qualities, he is an excellent communicator, he’s had great experiences behind him, he has worked with a lot of people who have influenced him and helped him along the way, and he remembers them all. He’s got a competitive nature that I think he conveys—look at what he’s done to our guys. He has been a fantastic guy on this staff; he works well with people at this level. The players totally believe him and can communicate and understand what he wants—he conveys the message. He’s a baller, I don’t think he’ll have any problem, I think it’s going to be a great step for him when the time comes.”
As for who might replace Quinn as Seattle’s defensive coordinator, the leading in-house candidate appears to be defensive backs coach Kris Richard. According to ProFootballTalk.com, it was expected that Richard would either become Quinn’s defensive coordinator in Atlanta or take over for Quinn in Seattle, so with Morris taking that job in Atlanta, Richard might be in line for a promotion in Seattle.
Earlier this month, Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman lobbied for Richard as a defensive coordinator candidate.
“I would hope our (defensive backs) coach Kris Richard would get a little bit more mention,” Sherman said. “He took a rag-tag bunch of DBs in 2011 and made ‘em perennial All-Pros and Pro-Bowlers, and you don’t hear his name being mentioned much for D-coordinator jobs and things like that, which I think it should. We obviously know what kind of coach he is and what he’s done, but obviously everybody else doesn’t.”
Asked what makes Richard, who played for Carroll at USC before spending three seasons playing cornerback for the Seahawks, such a good coach, Sherman said.
“His attention to detail, and he does a great job managing our personalities. We have a few different personalities obviously in that DB room, and we have over the years, and he does a great job understanding who everyone is and not coaching everyone the same. Understanding how people react to different things differently. His attention to detail and preparation of game-planning is meticulous. You have to know every fit, you have to know run game, he goes over basically every scenario you can be put in in a game, and he prepares us for that. You’re rarely ever surprised going into a ball game.”
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