Who will Replace Atlanta Falcons Head Coach Petrino
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The Falcons were left without a head coach after a classless disappearing act by former Head Coach Bobby Petrino. Now, Petrino is singing ’sooey’ at the University of Arkansas. Meanwhile, Atlanta Falcons GM Rich McKay is compiling a list to replace him. While there is no official word, there are a few names that are probably shoe-ins for the short list.the short list.
Bill Cowher: No Team
Ever since Bill Cowher resigned as the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach following the 2006 season, he’s been in the back of everyones mind as a comeback story. One of the League’s most respected and successful coaches, Cowher will definitely come up as a potential candidate.
While any GM in the NFL would love to fill a head coaching vacancy with Bill Cowher, the fit may not be true for Cowher. Certainly a franchise with ownership and front-office acumen like Atlanta would be an enticing option for most coaches. However, Cowher recently settled his family in North Carolina and seemed quite happy to settle in. Now just about everyone has a price. But the number required to unroost the League’s most powerful chin and his family may be higher than McKay and owner Arthur Blank are willing to part with.
Jason Garrett: Dallas Cowboys Offensive Coordinator
In a surprising and unorthodox move, Cowboys owner and General Manager Jerry Jones hired the young Garrett during Dallas’ head coaching search at the beginning of this season without specifying Garrett’s position. While most head coaches prefer to bring in their own staff, Wade Phillips was hired as the Cowboys head coach and told Garrett would serve as his offensive coordinator.
The move paid off and Phillips couldn’t be happier. Garrett inherited an already good offense. But heavier speculation centered on whether the young coach would be able to improve the unit or if he would simply coast on the system and players installed by previous Head Coach Bill Parcells and former offensive coordinator Sean Payton.
Garrett blew away all expectations by improving the Cowboys offense to second in the league and first in the NFC. Many, including former Cowboys quarterback and current NFL Analyst Troy Aikman feel that Garrett is being fast tracked into a head coaching position and Atlanta may be the first team to come calling. Aikman, who played for several years with Garrett backing him up, feels that Garrett is well ahead of his years in ability and is ready to be a head coach.
Monte Kiffin: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Defensive Coordinator
Atlanta Falcons GM Rich McKay has a long history with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that includes building a tremendous defense with former Bucs Head Coach Tony Dungy and Bucs Defensive Coordinator Monte Kiffin.
Kiffin is a coach that carrys tremendous respect from a long list of premier NFL players and coaches alike. Over the years, Kiffin’s defensive staff has been pillaged by several other NFL teams while Kiffin has remained loyal to Tampa Bay. However, since Tony Dungy was replaced by offensive-minded Jon Gruden and McKay was replaced by Bruce Allen, Kiffin has had to try and maintain his elite defense while getting much less of the new personnel acquisitions dedicated to defensive players. Kiffin has ties to McKay and to Falcons veteran running back Warrick Dunn.
Emmitt Thomas: Atlanta Falcons Defensive Backs/Interim Head Coach
The Falcons may or may not be giving the 64 year-old Thomas a fair shot at winning the position long-term. However, the locker room cred Thomas carries cannot be ignored.
“I respect Emmitt the utmost,” said center Todd McClure. “He’s been a player. He has a ton of experience. I know he’s going to lead us in the right direction. I think everybody in this locker room is looking forward to playing for him.”
Interim head coaches are almost never given serious consideration no matter how well they play out the season. Many times, the reasons are mystifying. However, if Thomas can squeeze out a few wins, he deserves some consideration as well.

