Falcons 2021 offseason: Top head coach/draft pick pairing

Falcons 2021 offseason: Top head coach/draft pick pairing.

The Atlanta Falcons made the difficult decision during the 2020 season to fire both their head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Dimitroff.

The departure of Quinn and Dimitroff signaled the end of an era in Atlanta, one with mixed results and one that might be remembered a lot differently were it not for one of the worst collapses in Super Bowl history.

With Quinn and Dimitroff out as the Falcons’ brain trust, it’s back to the drawing board for this organization. Who is going to be taking over?

The Falcons have a veteran-laden offense and a quarterback in Matt Ryan whose contract is borderline un-movable. With an offense that could compete for a championship, the Falcons should be emphasizing rapid improvement on the defensive side of the football in the 2021 offseason.

Who this team will hire as a general manager remains to be seen, but there is one particularly wise option for Atlanta at head coach.

Atlanta Falcons top head coach option: Robert Saleh

One of the hottest prospective head coaches in the entire NFL is San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.

Saleh’s unit, despite being decimated by injuries, ranks 11th in the NFL this season in points allowed. When they were at full strength in 2019, they were the 8th-best scoring defense in the league and best in the NFL against the pass.

Saleh will have a number of intriguing options to come along with him as an offensive coordinator wherever he goes, including former Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello as well as 49ers run game coordinator Mike McDaniel.

Saleh’s ability to get the most out of his defense is one of a variety of qualities that make him an attractive head coaching option. With some improvements over the course of the 2021 offseason in free agency and the 2021 NFL Draft, Saleh would be in a position with a veteran-loaded offense to get the Falcons back into contention sooner rather than later.

Top 2021 draft pick to pair with Saleh: Kwity Paye, EDGE, Michigan

The 2021 NFL Draft is pretty loaded with talented EDGE players, and Kwity Paye has a really good chance of being considered the best of them all.

A versatile athlete on the defensive front, Paye has rare explosiveness and short-area quickness to go along with his speed and power off the edge.

He has been dominant off the edge this season for the Wolverines and would give the Atlanta Falcons exactly what it so desperately needs after years of struggling with former first-round picks like Vic Beasley and Takk McKinley.

With a pass rusher like Paye and a coach like Saleh added to the defense, it’s not hyperbole to think the Falcons could rapidly turn things around and get back into the top-tier of the NFC.