KJJ
You Have an Axe to Grind
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I feel the same way about this hire as I felt about that one. There are some reasons for optimism, but also some for pessimism. Obviously, with Nolan, the reasons for pessimism won out. I hope it will be different with Quinn, but I'll take another wait and see approach.
Realistically, I don't think there's any coach we could hire where there wouldn't be some doubt. Either it's an assistant to a very good DC where we don't know if he can have that same kind of success. Or it's a college DC where we don't know if his success will translate to the pros. Or maybe a DC or head coach, like in this case, who was let go by his team but had success elsewhere ... under a defensive-minded head coach.
The part that gives me hope with Quinn is that after leaving Seattle, where his success was under defensive-minded head coach Pete Carroll, he had at least limited defensive success with Atlanta in 2016 and 2017. His defense was eighth in points allowed in 2017 and in the playoffs both years, his defenses held two opponents to 15 points or fewer (2017) and two others to 21 or fewer (2016). Several here bring up the blown lead to New England, but don't consider how his defense played to help them reach the Super Bowl.
That being said, it's also hard to ignore the past few years where his defenses have been spotty at best and terrible at worst. Not having examined his teams, I can't say exactly why he's had that downturn, but I hope it's more of a personnel issue than a coaching one. (Of course, I don't know if we're going to provide him with any better personnel here.)
The hire will ultimately come down to the draft and free agency and whether we can upgrade the talent on defense. With all the free agents/scrubs we have defensively we’ll likely be adding several new players.