Dan Quinn Responds When Asked About Worrying He'll Be Fired by Falcons

Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn is letting everybody else worry about his job status.

While meeting with reporters Monday, Quinn was asked if he expects to remain in Atlanta through the end of the season. Speculation has been growing that the fifth-year head coach will soon be fired from the 1-7 Falcons.

Quinn responded, in part, that entertaining such a thought was a waste of time, according to ESPN's Vaughn McClure:

"Well, I can honestly say all the time and all the attention I have, I couldn't think of a bigger waste of my mental health and space. ... All I want to do is see if we can get it right. That's what we want to deliver for [owner] Arthur [Blank]. That's what we want to deliver for the fans, for the team. [To] have performances that the city deserves, that's really important. So to spend any time or moments thinking, 'What if I don't?' that would only take away from that."

McClure reported Sunday that Blank will be evaluating Quinn "over the next few weeks."

"Nobody would have anticipated 1-7, and the lack of consistency," Blank said following the Falcons' 27-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, the team's sixth straight defeat. "Today was a prime example of that. ... So, we'll take the next couple of weeks during this bye period of time and evaluate where we are. Whatever decision we have to make will be made for the right reasons for the long term."

Blank had previously been more staunch in his support of Quinn, telling The Athletic's Jeff Schultz on Oct. 20 that he still stood behind his head coach.

Falcons players have been supportive of Quinn, too—most notably two-time All-Pro receiver Julio Jones:

Regardless of how Blank, players or anybody within the organization feels about Quinn, though, something needs to change in Atlanta.

Quinn's most successful year since taking over was 2016, when the Falcons finished 11-5 and reached Super Bowl LI. Atlanta infamously conceded a 28-3 third-quarter lead and lost the championship to the New England Patriots, and a strong argument can be made that the Falcons have never recovered.

Since then, Atlanta has gone 18-22—including 7-9 in 2018. The further the Super Bowl appearance drifts into the past, the weaker the argument is for the Falcons to use it to justify keeping Quinn.

His job may be safe through the team's Week 9 bye, but it seems he likely won't make it to a sixth year as Atlanta's head coach.