Blank was disappointed success from late last season did not roll over into '20GETTY IMAGES
Falcons Owner Arthur Blank decided it "was time for a change" when he made the decision to fire coach Dan Quinn and GM Thomas Dimitroff late Sunday night, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. Blank said he made the moves for "probably two reasons, one is that we made it clear and they made it clear, there was kind of a mutual, collateral, togetherness in a circle, that this year was going to be a playoff year or bust, if you will." Blank: "Dan signed up for that and so did Thomas. So did this owner and so did Mr. (Rich) McKay our president and CEO and our fans did, too. It was pretty clear at 0-5 that’s not going to happen." Ledbetter notes Blank "didn't want to second guess his decision to bring Quinn and Dimitroff back after the team went 7-9 last season." Blank: "In my opinion, we had every reason to think this situation, if anything, would get better. It would rollover and get better given free agency and drafting. It hasn't. When you go back and look at the last three years plus five games, our record has been less than .500." He added, "That's never what I'm about personally. That's not what I promised Atlanta in 2001 when we acquired the franchise." Ledbetter writes Blank by firing Quinn and Dimitroff "was perhaps trying to win back some of the fans, some of whom have defaulted on the PSL payments at the plush Mercedes-Benz Stadium" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 10/13).
LOOKING AHEAD: Blank said that he "doesn't feel it is 'terribly important' the order in which the Falcons hire the new leaders of the team." He said that in the "traditional sense, a general manager is usually hired first and then the general manager picks the coach." But since the GM and coach will report to McKay, Blank said it "doesn't really make a difference" who is hired first. Blank: "We will look at the timing of the best people and when they are available because of the nuances of the pandemic and how we are dealing with that and how it affects the league here, how it affects college, how it affects a lot of other things; we may be doing things a little out of the normal sequence." Meanwhile, THE ATHLETIC's Tori McElhaney reported a search firm "more than likely" will be used for the new hires. McKay said that the organization "will look to talk with firms and interview them and find 'the right fit.'" He said that there "had been no conversations" as of yesterday afternoon, but the "plan is to start those conversations soon." McKay: "I always think there is nothing wrong with using consultants for the role they can play and for the background checks, for the testing, for reaching out and making contact with agents and doing all of those things." Blank said that connecting with a search firm "would help the organization as the search gets underway" (THEATHLETIC.com, 10/12).
