For most of the day on Sunday, it looked like the Falcons would be able to hire Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn on Monday. Ultimately, Seattle won. Which means the Falcons must still wait.
But they’ll interview Quinn in Seattle again on Monday. Because the Falcons interviewed Quinn during the wild-card bye week, the rules allow them to interview Quinn a second time.
The rule don’t allow the Falcons to offer the job to Quinn until after the Super Bowl, but plenty of winking and nodding will surely happen during that interview. Then again, perhaps it already has.
Why else would the Falcons be hiring offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan before hiring a head coach? Unless the Falcons under Arthur Blank have morphed into the Raiders under Al Davis, Atlanta knows who Shanahan will be working for. He’ll be working for Quinn.
While not a violation of the letter of the rules, it’s a violation of the spirit of the rules. Committed by a team whose CEO, Rich McKay, chairs the NFL’s Competition Committee. Which isn’t a great look for the Falcons, the NFL, or McKay.