Former Atlanta Falcons cornerback Deion Sanders was on the NFL Network discussing the future of current Falcons coach Dan Quinn following the team's 37-10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, which was also Atlanta's fifth straight defeat and sixth in seven games.
Told by the moderator that Falcons owner Arthur Blank said Quinn's job was safe, Sanders said, "When an owner says (his coach) is safe, he's gone."
It would be hard to find a Falcons fan anywhere outside of Quinn's immediate family who would argue against the eventuality. Since getting blown out at Minnesota to open the season, Atlanta hasn't exactly shown much improvement anywhere.
There are certainly days when the offense remains impressive. Then again, when you can start Matt Ryan at quarterback, Julio Jones as your No. 1 wide receiver and Mohammad Sanu as your No. 2 pass catcher, you should be impressive.
Or as the NFL Network's Steve Mariucci noted on the same segment that Neon Deion was appearing on: "The (Falcons) offense is terrific."
But the defense is a disaster and his reputation for defense is what got Quinn the job.
If you can't be good at the one thing you're supposed to be good at, what good are you?
"My ego is never bigger than the team," Quinn said after the loss to the Rams, meaning he's not afraid to listen to others or to try new things to right all that's wrong in Dirty Birds Land.
And Quinn always has appeared to be a good guy with a big heart.
But this isn't about the margins, about maybe giving Quinn one more year to return the Falcons to the playoffs he guided them to in 2016 and 2017, including that painful lose-from-way-ahead Super Bowl defeat at the close of the 2016 season.
Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn, center, leaves the field after shaking hands with Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay after an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019, in Atlanta. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)In a sense, the Falcons never recovered from that loss to the New England Patriots after leading 28-3 in the final half. Yes, they made the playoffs the following year, losing late on the road to the Philadelphia Eagles, who would go on to win the Super Bowl against those same Pats.
But last year was a disaster from start to finish, the defense often as bad as this season, though at least Quinn could point to numerous injuries as an acceptable excuse for that 7-9 record.
There almost certainly will be nothing so mildly disappointing as a 7-9 mark this time around, much less a playoff berth. Having already lost seemingly winnable games to Arizona, Tennessee and the Rams, the Falcons now enter the heart of a schedule that includes two dates with the New Orleans Saints and single matchups with San Francisco and Seattle, which invades Mercedes-Benz Stadium this weekend.
Because of that, it might be time to DQ DQ, if only to get an early start on finding a suitable replacement.
And just when might that be? Rumors out of the Big Peach have Quinn being fired next Monday. The Falcons will be entering a bye week at that time and the first two games after that bye week are on the road, which would give whoever is thrown into the role of interim coach a month to fix whatever he can before the team returns for three straight home games against Tampa Bay, the Saints and Carolina.
This doesn't mean Blank necessarily will fire Quinn. Painful as that Super Bowl loss was, Quinn did get the Falcons there in his second season on the job. Beyond that, a year later, with everyone in the NFL expecting the team to be undone by such an emotional loss, he got them back to the postseason.
But the franchise has been trending downward ever since. Beyond that, Sunday's loss looked as if the Falcons no longer cared. There was little energy and less hope at any time past the first quarter that they could turn it around against an L.A. squad that not only had lost three straight games prior to Sunday but had surrendered an average of 35 points a game in those three defeats.
Yet against an Atlanta team whose strength is supposed to be its offense, the Rams gave up only 10 points on the road.
As he addressed the media Sunday, Quinn was asked if he believed his team had somewhat given up on the season.
"I never think you're out of the fight," the Falcons coach replied.
With quarterback Matt Ryan now nursing a tender ankle, with the schedule growing tougher rather than easier, the Falcons are not just out of the fight. If Sunday's loss was any indication, they're also out of fight.
Because of that, Quinn should soon be out of a job.
Mark WiedmerContact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.