Falcons’ Dan Quinn Favored to Be First NFL Head Coach Fired After Week 1

• Dan Quinn of the Atlanta Falcons is the +250 favorite to be the first NFL coach fired in 2019
• Eight coaches were fired last year
• But only two – Hue Jackson (Browns) and Mike McCarthy (Packers) – were canned midseason

Dan Quinn is clearly a coach on the hot seat. His underachieving Atlanta Falcons started the 2019 season with another uninspiring performance, losing 28-12 to the Vikings in Minnesota.

Quinn was quickly established as the +250 chalk to be the first NFL coach fired this season.

Next NFL Coach to Leave His Post

*Odds taken on 09/11/19. Follow link for complete list.

Quinn supplants Jay Gruden of the Washington Redskins as the favorite in the first NFL coach to be fired odds.

Quinn’s Dreadful Start

There was little to get excited about for Atlanta in Week 1. The Falcons offense was mistake-prone. The defense couldn’t stop Minnesota’s run game.

After falling behind 28-0, two fourth-quarter touchdown passes by quarterback Matt Ryan only served to give the impression that the Falcons were in the game. They weren’t.

Dan Quinn: We missed the mark today and we missed the mark badly. #Falcons

— Kelsey Conway (@KelseyLConway) September 8, 2019

Quinn admitted this himself, suggesting in his post-game comments that his team had missed the mark badly.

A Team on a Treadmill

Atlanta’s never really recovered from that epic fail in Super Bowl 51. The Falcons blew a 28-3 third-quarter lead and lost 34-28 in overtime to the New England Patriots.

The NFL season is long. Anyone not worried about the Falcons is not paying attention. A really awful performance in Minneapolis. 18-18 since Super Bowl LI. Where is this going? @11AliveSports

— Jeff Hullinger (@jeff_hullinger1) September 9, 2019

Since that day, the Falcons are 17-16 in regular-season play, and 18-17 factoring in the postseason. Count the Super Bowl loss and they are a .500 team since winning the 2016-17 NFC Championship Game.

Which Coach Gets the Ziggy First?

There’s an interesting parallel between the two coaches most expected to be the first to go this season, and the two coaches who were the first to go last season.

Gruden of the Redskins owns a similar history to Hue Jackson, who was fired when the Cleveland Browns started 2-5-1 last season. The failures of Gruden (35-45-1) aren’t as extreme as Jackson’s (11-44-1). On the other hand, he’s endured two straight losing seasons and is in charge of a team that’s expected to be dreadful this season

I'm not a Redskins fan but my God Jay Gruden is a horrible coach.

— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) September 9, 2019

Quinn’s situation resembles Mike McCarthy’s last season in Green Bay, when the Packers started 4-7-1. McCarthy was actually able to claim a Super Bowl title (SB 45), unlike Quinn, but Green Bay never got back that level again.

The Packers were cleary sliding further away from the prize when McCarty was dismissed.

Lions Will Stand with Patricia … for Now

The Detroit Lions are a disaster of a franchise, but they appear quite comfortable accepting bad football.

Let's not forget that Jim Caldwell got fired for going 11-5, 7-9, 9-7 and 9-7 in four years in Detroit and was replaced by Matt Patricia, who is now 6-10-1.

— Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) September 9, 2019

Even though they opened Matt Patricia’s second season by blowing a 24-6 fourth-quarter lead and settling for a 27-27 tie in Arizona, Patricia isn’t in immediate danger of losing his job.

Eight of the last nine Lions head coaches were able to make it to at least year three before facing the firing quad.

Quinn’s Time Running Out

Last season, Atlanta pinned the blame on offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. They brought back Dirk Koetter, who was fired after going 3-13 in Tampa Bay.

They have Ryan, receivers Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley and Mohamed Sanu and running back Devonta Freeman. That’s a load of talent at the skill positions.

The buck now stops with Quinn. If they don’t get going, he’s gone.

Pick: Dan Quinn (+250).