Falcons coach Dan Quinn isn’t thinking about his job status. Others in the organization undoubtedly are.
The Falcons have lost three of their first four games, and easily could be winless. A loss on Sunday would drop the Falcons to 1-4. And it would push Quinn closer toward a potential bye-week farewell.
Consider the upcoming schedule. After next week’s game at Arizona (which should result in a win), the Falcons finish the first half of the season with a pair of tough home games, against the Rams and Seahawks.
So 2-6 could be staring the Falcons in the face. With three former head coaches on the Atlanta coaching staff (offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter, tight ends coach Mike Mularkey, and receivers coach Raheem Morris), owner Arthur Blank already may be thinking about giving one of them a chance to spend the rest of 2019 auditioning for the job in 2020.
That makes today’s game even more important. And it won’t be easy. Beyond the fact that the Texans have a playoff-caliber roster, the Falcons are returning to the scene of their 28-3 meltdown from Super Bowl LI. Another meltdown could set the stage for Quinn to be out, possibly in only three weeks.