Once you get rid of the offensive or defensive coordinator, usually that puts the head coach next up on the chopping block if things don’t turn around.

When you dump the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator the day after the season, it’s quite a message to the head coach.

Dan Quinn will be back as Atlanta Falcons head coach, but there will be a lot of urgency for him in 2019. The Falcons fired offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel and special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong, the team’s site said. Quinn will call the defense as the team’s de facto coordinator next season, the Falcons’ site said.

The Falcons came into the season with a strong roster and finished 7-9. There were bound to be major changes, and there will presumably be more if next season isn’t better.

Steve Sarkisian gone after two seasons

The Falcons made an unconventional move after losing Super Bowl LI to the New England Patriots, hiring Sarkisian to replace Kyle Shanahan.

Shanahan was coming off an excellent season and left to become head coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Sarkisian had spent nearly his entire career in college, including a controversial ouster from USC, and was hired from the University of Alabama. The Falcons had plenty of assistants with NFL experience to choose from when they hired Sarkisian.

The Falcons offense took a big step back in 2017, and because Shanahan was so good in 2016, Sarkisian was under immediate fire. The firing of Sarkisian after the 2018 season was reactionary considering the Falcons were 10th in the NFL in points scored and sixth in yards gained. Matt Ryan had an excellent season, albeit for a losing team. The Falcons’ offense was pretty good, but Sarkisian took the fall. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport already speculated that former Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak could be a candidate to be the Falcons’ next offensive coordinator.

After a disappointing season, the Falcons apparently felt the need to totally overhaul the coaching staff under Quinn, including the coordinator of a top-10 offense.

Falcons undergo major changes

The moves to dismiss Manuel made more sense. The Falcons finished 17th in yards and points allowed, and struggled mightily at times this season. Injuries played a role in that. Atlanta’s special teams ranked 10th heading into Week 17, according to Football Outsiders’ DVOA per-play metric, but nobody aside from Quinn was safe as Atlanta cleaned house.

The Falcons site wrote that “the vision Quinn has for this team, specifically in its style of play, wasn’t there on a consistent basis.”

“We know we have a group of players here we are excited about and in order for us to consistently play true to our identity in all three phases we thought we needed some changes,” Quinn told the Falcons’ site.

Whatever buzzwords Quinn wanted to use, it’s all on his shoulders moving forward. If the Falcons don’t bounce back in a major way, there’s only one more coaching move for owner Arthur Blank to make.

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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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