After Firing Dan Quinn the Falcons Need to Blow Up Their Roster

Dan Quinn is in the process of being fired by the Atlanta Falcons and it should be announced this week. The 50-year-old head coach had been on the hot seat for the better part of two seasons and it was long past time for him to go. Now that he's out, the Falcons should blow up their roster and begin a rebuild immediately.

Since blowing a 28-3 lead in Super Bowl LI back in 2017, Quinn has a 24-29 record as Atlanta's coach. That includes back-to-back 7-9 seasons in 2018 and 2019 and an 0-5 start to 2020. That drop off coincides with Kyle Shanahan leaving Atlanta. The Falcons are far from making another Super Bowl run and it's time to hit the reset button.

Matt Ryan has been underrated throughout his career but he's not going to be around forever. He's 35 and Julio Jones is 31, so the franchise's two cornerstones are expensive and past their primes. Due to their massive contracts, both guys would be difficult to move, but crazier things have happened.

Atlanta should simply ask Ryan and Jones if they were willing to be around through a rebuild. This is a franchise that isn't close and may need to get much worse before it gets better.

Currently, the best the Falcons can hope for is to land somewhere between 5-11 and 7-9 for the foreseeable future. That's the NFL's definition of purgatory. Last year, 7-9 only got Atlanta the 16th pick in the draft. That's not good enough for a team that needs a complete rework.

While my gut hates the concept of tanking, that's exactly what Atlanta needs right now. If a team has no chance of making the postseason, there's absolutely no benefit in being average. The Falcons should aim for a full-scale rebuild via the draft over the next few seasons. That's the only way to recalibrate the franchise.

Getting rid of Quinn was the first step. Firing general manager Thomas Dimitroff was the second. If the team's next GM wants to rebuild the franchise, he needs to commit to it immediately.