The players in the Falcons' locker room were informed Thursday of some significant news regarding the futures of their head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff.
Falcons owner and chairman Arthur Blank announced Quinn and Dimitroff have been retained for the 2020 season and will now directly report to president and CEO Rich McKay.
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After finishing 7-9 in 2018, the Falcons started the 2019 season 1-7. During the bye week, Blank said he would take a couple of weeks to evaluate things and was "extraordinarily disappointed" in the way the season had unfolded.
Since the bye, however, the Falcons are 5-2. Quinn gave his defensive play-calling duties to Jeff Ulbrich and Raheem Morris and the defense has made major strides.
With one game left to play, Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said the focus is on beating Tampa Bay but did acknowledge his team can't have another season like 2019.
"For us, going forward, the trial-and-error period we have to get rid of that and we have to be able to start fast," Jarrett said. "We can't have mulligans and stuff. We have to come in day in and day out and we have to perform on gameday."
Several other players offered their reaction to the news of their head coach and general manager returning for another season:
De'Vondre Campbell:
"It's big for the team in general. He's the only head coach that I've had the pleasure of being with. It's pretty big for the franchise, in general. A great man, a great coach. Everything he brings to the program."
Alex Mack:
"Really good news. I think it shows a lot about the faith Arthur has in this team and Dan Quinn. I think it speaks a lot for the kind of guy Coach Quinn is. Just the attitude he brings to the team, the way he keeps things positive."
Isaiah Oliver:
"I think it's really a testament to show what kind of coach he is, what kind of person he is and what kind of man he is. Everybody is this room loves him as a coach and as a person. A lot of what we do is because of him. For him to get that opportunity to come back and show what he's capable of is a blessing for us as well."
