The Falcons officially announced a complete overhaul on Black Monday, though head coach Dan Quinn remains safe. Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel, and special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong have all been relieved of their duties.
It is not hard to imagine why these changes were made given the expectations and the results that followed for the Falcons in 2018.
Steve Sarkisian was brought in in hopes of emulating Kyle Shanahan’s offense, and while his scheming was along the same lines, the offense never clicked as it did during their Super Bowl run, regardless of the slight improvements the offense made statistically in his second year.
Our very own Chase Irle wrote a piece on how the Falcons should retain Marquand Manuel.  He cited how the Falcons were great under Manuel in 2017 and how he was dealt a bad hand with injuries this season. That is likely the case, but Quinn decided he should be the one calling the plays on the defense. And while he still believes in Manuel as a coach, he thinks Manuel should have a chance to call plays as well, just not in Atlanta.
Falcons fans should be excited that Dan Quinn will be taking over defensive coordinator duties, as he did at the end of the 2016 season. We all know how much success he had as Seattle’s DC, and after week 13 of the 2016 season, we saw some of the best defense this franchise has seen in years.
The Falcons are also letting go of Keith Armstrong, who has been with the Falcons for 14 years of his career. Dan Quinn reportedly wants a “new voice” for the special teams.
With the amount of talent the Falcons have, they could fully unlock the potential of this team if he makes the right hires and remain healthy. Let the coaching search begin. It should be a fun offseason in Atlanta.