The rumors were confirmed Monday morning when Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and the Atlanta Falcons agreed for a five-year deal to make him the team’s new head coach.
Quinn is expected to be introduced by the team Tuesday.
While it was no secret that Quinn would be the Falcons’ coach, he still refused to discuss it after his team’s 28-24 loss to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl Sunday night. It probably didn’t help that his defense was less than spectacular in the fourth quarter, giving up 14 points to the Patriots and squandering a 10-point lead.
“In respect to this game, what a terrific game we were all a part of,” Quinn said. “So for tonight I’d like to make the focus all about our players, both teams. It was a great contest. You could see how hard guys played. As a coach, that’s really what you’re looking for, great effort first. You see the guys in the locker room, they gave everything they had. You can’t ask for more than that as a coach.”
This will be Quinn’s first head coaching job at any level. Quinn was the defensive coordinator for the University of Florida from 2011-2012 and coached defensive line for the Seahawks, the New York Jets, the Miami Dolphins and the San Francisco 49ers before that.
Falcons investigated for fake crowd noise
While all the offseason cheating investigation-related news has been focused on the New England Patriots and deflated footballs, the NFL has opened a probe into fake crowd noise at the Georgia Dome.
The Falcons are accused of piping in fake crowd noise for the past two seasons. If the Falcons are guilty, they’ll be fined and likely lose a draft choice. Not good news for a franchise in transition with a new coaching staff.
“We were informed during the season that the league office is looking into crowd noise during our games,” the Falcons said through a team spokesman. “We have cooperated fully with them, and we’re awaiting the outcome.”
If the Falcons did play fake crowd noise it didn’t do them any good. They were 3-5 at home this season and were blown out 34-3 by the Carolina Panthers in a game where the winner made the playoffs and won the NFC South title in Week 17.
Richard Sherman will need surgery on his elbow
Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman played the Super Bowl with a torn ligaments in his left elbow that will likely require Tommy John surgery to repair. Sherman injured his elbow in the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers, but never missed a practice leading up to the Super Bowl.
In spite of playing with the injury, Sherman was spectacular in the Super Bowl, with only one pass completed against him for six yards.
Wide receiver Lance Moore wants out of Pittsburgh
Citing lack of playing time, wideout Lance Moore has asked the Steelers to release him from his contract. Moore, 31, is just two years removed from a breakout season with the New Orleans Saints where he caught 65 passes for 1,041 yards and six touchdowns. Injuries limited Moore in 2013 and expected to be more of a factor in the Steelers’ offense this season.
Instead, Moore was passed over, literally, my Markus Wheaton (644 yards, two TDs) and rookie Martavis Bryant (549 yards, eight TDs)
Moore’s 198 yards and two touchdowns was the third lowest output of his career.
Seattle early favorites for Super Bowl 50, Super Bowl 49 sets ratings record
The confetti hadn’t yet finished falling and Seahawks coach Pete Carroll hadn’t yet started flagellating himself when the oddsmakers had already determined that Seattle and the New England Patriots were likely to meet again in next year’s Super Bowl.
The Seahawks opened as a 5-1 favorite, with the Patriots right behind them at 6-1. The Green Bay Packers were 7-1 and the Denver Broncos, kind of surprisingly, were 8-1.
Monday it was confirmed that Super Bowl 49 scored the highest overnight ratings in history, with the Neilsen company revealing that the game received a 49.7 rating and a 72 share in the largest media markets, a four percent jump from last year’s ratings.
The numbers continue to come in, but if they hold up Super Bowl 49 will surpass the 11.5 million viewers for Super Bowl 48, which was also a new record at the time.
