Which previous head coach of the Falcons will do best with his new team?
Now that both of those coaches have been hired, Arthur Smith will serve as the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Dan Quinn will become the newest head coach of the Washington Commanders. Who do you think will have the most success with their new squad between those two coaches?
Who will be the most successful past head coach of the Atlanta Falcons?
Three years ago, who would have guessed that Arthur Smith would be the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers heading into the 2024 season and Dan Quinn would be the head coach of the Washington Commanders?
Smith was expected to lead the Falcons as head coach and be a reliable offensive playcaller, but Quinn had recently been sacked when his team collapsed after the 2017 season. Atlanta did not work out for either of the head coaches.
Their current goal will be to resume their coaching careers. Which one will succeed more?
The Arthur Smith case
A talented Pittsburgh offensive that underperformed the previous year is being led by Arthur Smith. George Pickens, Diontae Johnson, Jaylen Warren, and Najee Harris are among his playwrights.
The last time Smith served as an offensive coordinator, he was also rather successful. Now that Smith is concentrating on only one side of the ball, it is not absurd to believe that he can achieve success once more.
Having Mike Tomlin in charge of you and the team also helps.
The prosecution of Arthur Smith
Arthur Smith has had a terrible scheme with the Falcons, especially over the last two years. Although he didn’t have a reliable quarterback in 2021, save Matt Ryan, he also didn’t assist his quarterbacks, and Pittsburgh doesn’t really provide much of an improvement either.
Another theory is that Smith lacks knowledge on how to employ his offensive weaponry. It is debatable whether the Falcons’ attack was more gifted than the Steelers’, but consider Smith’s outcome.
This next season, there could be a lot of pyrotechnics in Pittsburgh—and not the type that occurs on the sidelines.
The Dan Quinn case
The fact that Dan Quinn is one of just two head coaches in history to lead the Atlanta Falcons to the Super Bowl and that he accomplished it with a squad that wasn’t expected to go very far is something that fans tend to overlook.
In Atlanta (2017), Quinn led a strong defense that enabled the team to go to the postseason following an unforgettable Super Bowl. Moreover, he has a successful playoff record.
Subsequently, he transformed one of the worst defenses in history into a consistent force as soon as he took over as the Cowboys defensive coordinator. He mostly owes this to his self-reinvention following his firing from the Falcons.
His new squad can acquire even more players in the upcoming months, and it already has some strong players on both sides of the ball. Washington owns the second-overall pick and is predicted to have the most cap room. Dan Quinn has the tools at his disposal to make his new squad better right now.
The prosecution of Dan Quinn
Except for the obvious fact that he led the Falcons to two winning seasons, not much in Dan Quinn’s tenure stands out as a positive example of a head coach. In his five full seasons in Atlanta, Quinn’s defenses finished 14th, 27th, 8th, 25th, and 23rd in terms of points allowed per game. For the most part, those defenses were awful.
The club never looked the same after Quinn lost his offensive coordinator in 2016, even though he also received assistance from Kyle Shanahan. Many thanks to poor hiring and decision-making in coaching.
Dan Quinn has also left a bad taste in Dallas. Against the Green Bay Packers in the playoffs, his team suffered a crushing defeat. Quinn’s performance was so bad that it nearly cost him the job.
There will be a lot more strain on Dan Quinn than Arthur Smith. This is his second head coaching position, and he will not be offered another one if this one doesn’t work out.
After dealing away two outstanding players from the previous season, Washington has some serious weaknesses in their defense. They also need to find a franchise quarterback, which is never an easy feat.
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I think Dan Quinn will be a more successful coach than Arthur Smith, even if he may have an easier route to success. He’s got the money to build the team he wants, the experience to coach a winning team, and time to rethink his plan.
In the end, though, I’m not sure how much faith you can place in either guy.
Paradoxically, Raheem Morris is the “former” Falcons head coach with the highest chance of success.
