Falcons Wise to be Patient in HC Search, Wait for Seahawks DC Dan Quinn

The pieces are starting to fall into place. In just the past 24 hours, three NFL teams have hired new head coaches.

The New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers announced their hirings of former Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles and defensive line coach Jim Tomsula, respectively, on Wednesday, and the Oakland Raiders, per NFL.com's Ian Rapoport, have reportedly hired former Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio.

The Atlanta Falcons, on the other hand, have bided their time, and while some fans are clamoring for action, the Falcons are actually taking the best action they can at this point in time—being patient.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the reason for the Falcons' idleness is simple—at this point, they have to play a waiting game if they want to get their man:

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With Todd Bowles landing in NY, Seahawks DC Dan Quinn is now the favorite to land the Falcons HC job, per league sources. Atlanta is interviewing Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin today, and he will have his chance to impress the Falcons, and try to change their minds and anything is possible. But sources close to and familiar with the Falcons’ situation believe Atlanta is willing to wait for Quinn, and Quinn is willing to wait for them, and he is the leading contender at this time to become the Falcons’ next head coach. Quinn and the Falcons already have met once, and will be allowed to do so next week, whether or not the Seahawks win or lose Sunday’s conference championship game. There is a window next week for teams that already interviewed candidates to interview them again. Under the rules, the Broncos cannot interview Quinn, but the Falcons and Bears would be able to do so. Maybe the biggest advantage and lure that Atlanta has is its quarterback, Matt Ryan. His presence has made the Falcons’ job arguably the most appealing one available.

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Quinn had been widely reported to be the favorite to land the Jets' job, but whether it was fear over waiting for him or an impressive interview by Todd Bowles (a fine hire in its own right), the Jets chose to go another direction.

According to Dianna Marie Russini of NBC 4 in Washington D.C., the interest between Quinn and the Falcons is mutual:

And that makes waiting a no-brainer.

For starters, there's the fact that the Falcons don't have to wait until after the Super Bowl to conduct a second interview with Quinn. As Schefter wrote, the two sides are free to sit down next week, during the "off week" that comes between the conference championships and the Pro Bowl before Super Bowl madness begins in earnest.

Assuming the Seahawks beat Green Bay Sunday, of course. If they lose, the season's over for them, and it's open season on Quinn.

Then there's the small matter of what Quinn brings to the table for a Falcons squad that desperately needs to improve defensively.

Year	Total D	Run D	Pass D	Sacks	Scoring D
2012	365.6 (24)	123.2 (21)	242.4 (23)	29 (28)	18.7 (5)
2013	379.4 (27)	135.8 (31)	243.6 (21)	32 (29)	27.7 (27)
2014	398.2 (32)	118.4 (21)	279.9 (32)	22 (30)	26.1 (27)

Dating all the way back to Atlanta's 13-3 campaign in 2012, the team has been porous on defense. That year, an opportunistic, "bend but don't break" defense was able to camouflage some of those deficiencies, to the tune of fifth in the NFL in points allowed.

However, their luck dried up the past two years. The Falcons didn't rank in the top 20 in the NFL in a single major defensive statistical category the past two years. Shock and amazement, the Falcons also missed the postseason both seasons.

The pass rush has been especially anemic. The Falcons ranked no higher than 28th in the NFL over that three-year span, and last year, the team managed all of 22 sacks.

That's the same number that Justin Houston of the Kansas City Chiefs had last year—by himself.

Simply put, it doesn't matter how good the Falcons are offensively if they can't stop anyone—ever.

Meanwhile, Quinn (and Gus Bradley before him) have built the league's most feared defense in the Emerald City. Granted, the Seahawks dropped from eighth in the league in sacks two years ago to 20th in 2014, but Seattle's 37 sacks last year are still a far sight better than what Atlanta generated.

And Quinn did that in Seattle without a so-called "elite" pass-rusher.

Mind you, this isn't to say that hiring Quinn will instantly fix all that ails the Atlanta defense. Personnel upgrades will still need to be made, especially in light of terrible free-agent signings (looking at you, Osi Umenyiora and Tyson Jackson) and with oft-injured linebacker Sean Weatherspoon set to hit free agency.

Hiring Quinn would also mean a second consecutive season of switching defensive schemes, this time from Mike Nolan's 3-4 to Quinn's 4-3 "under" front.

However, as recently as two years ago, the Falcons ran a 4-3, so most of the players have recent experience playing it. 2013 second-round pick Ra'Shede Hageman is a better fit as a "3-technique" tackle than as a 3-4 end.

There are also quite a few pass-rushers set to hit free agency in 2015, including several young defensive ends who could potentially be great fits in the "Leo" weak-side end role in Quinn's defense.

Player	Team	Age	2014 Sacks
Jerry Hughes	BUF	26	10.0
Jason Pierre-Paul	NYG	26	12.5
Greg Hardy	CAR	26	15.0 (2013)
Brandon Graham	PHI	26	5.5
Derrick Morgan	TEN	26	6.5

At the end of the day, Quinn is easily the best remaining name among a rather uninspiring list of head coaching candidates. He reportedly wants to coach the Falcons. The team reportedly wants him to do so.

It's a situation that almost makes too much sense.

So while there's always a risk that in waiting the Falcons could miss out on other candidates if a deal can't be consummated with Quinn, in this instance, it's a risk worth taking.

So hurry up and wait, Atlanta.

The team will be better for it.

Gary Davenport is an NFL Analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and the Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter @IDPManor.