The Panthers beat the Falcons, then Atlanta fired its coach and GM
The Atlanta Falcons have fired head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff only six hours after the Panthers defeated the Falcons 23-16 on Sunday.
The Falcons have begun the 2020 season 0-5 and two of their losses — to the Bears and Cowboys — came after leading by two possessions in the fourth quarter.
But the loss to the Panthers (3-2) was apparently the last straw for Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who was on the sideline for much of the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Quinn is the second coach to lose his job this season. The Texans fired Bill O’Brien last week after four losses to start their season.
Raheem Morris was named Monday as Atlanta’s interim coach.
Quinn became the Falcons head coach in 2015 after a stint as the defensive coordinator in Seattle. He led the Falcons to a Super Bowl during the 2016 season, but famously lost after they allowed the Patriots to come from behind down 28-3.
The Panthers took a 20-7 lead over the Falcons into halftime. Atlanta made a comeback attempt and could have tied the game in the fourth quarter, but Carolina safety Juston Burris intercepted a Matt Ryan pass in the end zone to secure the Panthers’ win.
Quinn finishes his career with Atlanta with a 43-42 record. Dimitroff had been the Falcons GM since 2008.
“Our finish in 2019 earned an opportunity to show that momentum could be continued and built upon, but that has clearly not happened,” Blank said in a news release. “And overall, the last 3-plus seasons have fallen short of my commitment to Atlanta and to our fans everywhere.”
This story was originally published October 11, 2020 at 10:24 PM.
