NFL Hot Seat: 5 coaches that could get fired before the 2020 season ends

If it weren’t for a massive defensive overhaul in the second half, Dan Quinn would have been fired by the Atlanta Falcons already. A year after cluster injuries in the secondary wrecked Atlanta’s 2018 season, the Falcons came out of the game last year and posted a dreadful 1-7 record. Atlanta somehow finished the season on a 6-2 run to end up as delicious Jeff Fisher 7-9 B.S.

With 11 former first-round picks starting on the offensive side of the ball and Dirk Koetter back in his second season of his second stint as offensive coordinator, there are no excuses for the Falcons to be anything short of a top-eight offense in the league. Atlanta should be great on that side of the ball, but Quinn’s defense has to be as good as it was down the stretch, if not better.

Though the Falcons might only be the third-best team in the NFC South after the New Orleans Saints and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they have the talent to still push for a playoff spot, especially with an expanded field. If Quinn can’t be the galvanizing force to get Atlanta over .500 this fall, then owner Arthur Blank needs to find someone else who can be that for him.

Should the Falcons play terribly out of the gate, Quinn could get whacked and Atlanta would have two quality interim coaches to lead the team the rest of the way: Koetter and defensive coordinator Raheem Morris. Though both failed leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2010s, they know enough about the division to give the Falcons a fighting chance if Quinn cannot.