Wanted: Anyone Who Will Coach the Atlanta Falcons

Geoff Oliphant — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:20:01 -0500

A year ago it looked like the Atlanta Falcons were finally about to put the pieces together and become a championship team. Newly-hired head coach and offensive guru Bobby Petrino was going to turn Mike Vick into an actual quarterback.

As we all know, things didn't quite work out to plan.

Vick is in jail, and Petrino abandoned the horrendous Falcons after just 13 games as head coach. After a forgettable season, the Falcons are left looking in the mirror and realizing they have no offense, no defense, and most importantly... no coach.

The real question is not who will be the next head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, but why would anyone take the job?

It seems to me that coaching the Falcons is more like coaching suicide than a good opportunity. Their most recent coaches, Jim Mora Jr. and Bobby Petrino, can attest to this.

Mora lasted for a while in Atlanta but was prematurely fired because he couldn't win a meaningful game in the second half of the season. Petrino, as mentioned before, was gone after 13 games.

Mora was at least given some talent on his team during his tenure in Atlanta. Most importantly, he had Mike Vick. Petrino had nothing, and once he realized it, he wisely jumped on a bus and fled town.

Next year's Falcons don't seem to have any more talent then they had this year. So to sum it up, my advice to Jason Garret or any other candidates for the job: Do what Pete Carroll did and stay where you are. Even an assistant coaching job is better than committing coaching suicide in Atlanta.

The Falcons are heading nowhere, and fast. The poor man that takes over that position will be either kicked out or flee town within two years. Maybe the Falcons should just concede all their games until Vick gets out of jail and then try to rebuild from there.

As ridiculous as it sounds, it may be their best option.

Bynum's Injury May Keep L.A. Lakers from a Championship Run.

Geoff Oliphant — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 20:44:06 -0500

The Los Angeles Lakers appear to be the breakout team of the NBA this season, climbing their way to third in the West and only a half game behind Phoenix in the division. Kobe seems to be trusting his teammates and Andrew Bynum looks like he could be the real deal. The Lakers could surprise everyone and represent the West in the NBA finals this year...

All of this was true until Andrew Bynum hurt his knee; now he will be out for at least 8 weeks. The once electrified Lakers will soon find themselves in the middle to lower part of the Western conference playoff hunt and looking at another first round exit, most likely to the hands of the Phoenix Suns.

The Lakers have been playing great basketball as of late. Kobe Bryant has behaved like a true team player, trusting his supporting cast to get the job done. Now with Bynum's absence, however, you will see the Lakers return to their old playing ways. As was made evident by their most recent game, a 123 to 121 victory over the Sonics in overtime, the Lakers will revert and rely on Kobe scoring around 40 points a night while taking 40 shots a night. The Bynumless Lakers will no longer have a dominant threat inside, which means teams like the Spurs, Suns, and Mavericks—once more evenly matched with the Lakers—will run them over as if they don't even belong on the same court.

As we have seen in the past, when Kobe doesn't trust his teammates and when he thinks the entire game rests on his shoulders, the Lakers are an average basketball team at best.

As much as I love L.A. Bynum's injury could not have come at a worse time. Without him in the line up for the next 8 weeks, the Lakers will drop to the 6th seed in the West. Even if they get into a groove before the playoffs, the road will prove too hard to get them all the way to the NBA finals. It looks like Bynum's injury could lead to another early exit from the playoffs and possibly another trade demand by the league's best player.

Bleacher Report - Articles by Geoff Oliphant

Wanted: Anyone Who Will Coach the Atlanta Falcons

Bynum's Injury May Keep L.A. Lakers from a Championship Run.