ByJAMES PARKS Dec 18, 1:13 PM
It looks like some changes are on the way in Atlanta.
The Falcons organization could be undergoing some “significant changes” on their coaching staff in the approaching offseason, according to a report from NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero.
It appears that second year offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian is the one name currently on the hot seat after suffering another late season decline in his offensive play calling duties.
But defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel is also looking at the possibility of losing his job as well after the Falcons endured a major regress in the quality of defensive play over the season.
One name under consideration to replace Sarkisian on offense is Darrell Bevell, who was the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings from 2006 to 2010, and the Seattle Seahawks from 2011 to 2017. Bevell and Dan Quinn maintain a close relationship, as both were with the Seahawks organization during their Super Bowl run.
Sarkisian appeared to have made significant progress calling the offense, including a run of a dozen straight red zone scoring drives, but in the latter half of the season, the offense struggled again, with their rushing attack ranking last and emerging as the last unit in football to rush for 1,000 yards.
“You’d better believe we’re evaluating everything and doing anything to get it right,” head coach Dan Quinn said about prospective changes in the organization this offseason.
Naturally, the organization will lean heavily on the injury angle for their failures.
As they have every reason to. The Falcons lost some of their best players, particularly on defense, early on this season. Middle linebacker Deion Jones, their tackles leader and play caller on defense, strong safety Keanu Neal, arguably their hardest hitter in the secondary, free safety Ricardo Allen, in addition to both offensive guards Andy Levitre and Brandon Fusco, and running back Devonta Freeman, among others, have been put on injured reserve.
The absence of both starting safeties has in turn compromised the play of their cornerbacks, as Desmond Trufant and Robert Alford have been on the receiving end of some big plays from opposing offenses, and consequently come under heavy criticism from the fan base.
But the season went on, regardless of those injuries, and it was the Falcons’ job to find some way around those missing players, by making some alteration to their approach.
For a while, it worked. After a poor 1-4 start, the Falcons suddenly went on a three game win streak and actually crawled back to .500 on the year.
But then came a five game losing streak that has seen the team suffer notable and consistent declines in all phases of the game.
“It hasn’t been to the level that we’ve needed to for a while, not just in the last few weeks,” Quinn said. “To have some of these inconsistencies show up over an extended period of time has been definitely something that’s been at the front of my mind.”
The Falcons will likely not be making any great changes, considering the general quality of their roster, and will instead look to re-group after the return of their injured starters.
But there will be a wide ranging investigation from top to bottom.
“As we’re going through it, from players to staff to everything, we want to make sure we look at the body of work,” Quinn said.
“And get clear, concise evaluations on everybody. When you’re standing where we’re at, it’s not what you want to do, but that’s part of it and what we’re looking at for sure. If you’re clearly at four wins during this time, then we have not met expectations.”