Chan Gailey the New Atlanta Falcons Coach?
The Atlanta Falcons are in trouble. They have a new coach and their star Michael Vick is not able to play right now. He is probably going to get cut when his contract runs out, so don’t look for Vick in the Georgia Dome anytime soon. Bobby Petrino has been a big bust for the Falcons this year. He has done nothing to help the team and after their latest lost to the Colts, they are just getting worse. Some thought he might leave the Falcons for one of the more attractive college jobs that are being dangled right now. He insists that he wants to stay, but do the Falcons want him?
One of those jobs up for grabs will be the head coaching position at Georgia Tech. They just fired Chan Gailey today and I think they might have made a mistake. Gailey is a great coach and did really good for the talent that was here. Tech had an impressivie recruiting class last year and if all the verbal commitments pan out, then Georgia Tech will have one of the best recruiting classes this year. They are just another year or two away from making some serious noise in the college ranks and I thought Gailey should have been given two more years. He makes great decisions and isn’t scared to pull the trigger like most coaches are.
Now factor in the Falcons need for a coach and Chan Gailey not wanting to leave Georgia Tech and I think you have a great combination. There is no way the Falcons organization can allow Bobby Petrino to continue to butcher this team or let Rich McKay pick the players in the draft. Arthur Blank has really got to make some hard decisions and letting McKay and Petrino go would be the best thing for the Atlanta Falcons right now.
It’s not clear if Chan Gailey would want to enter the NFL again, but if he could keep his home in Atlanta, it might make the most sense for him. He will experience the growing pains for the Falcons again, but Rich Mckay is dead set on going after the high priced free agents, that will not be in the best interest of the Falcons. The Falcons should really look to rebuild and just acquire draft picks for now. The high-priced free agents are only going to put a band-aid on this team and they will win a few more games. The chances of a playoff game next year would still be against the odds and if they did make it, you could be sure it would be an early exit for them.
If Arthur Blank wants a Super Bowl (like he has said in the past) he needs a GM, a coach, draft picks, and needs to target the 2012 Super Bowl. The Super Bowl this year is out of the question and next year is just as slim too. If he and the Falcons organization don’t target the 2012 Super Bowl and continue with the veterans due to the lack of selecting good players out of the draft, it might be a lot longer before the Falcons get close to a Super Bowl appearance. This off-season will determine if the Falcons can be competitive in the journey to the Super Bowl. If Bobby Petrino remains and Mckay selects the draft picks, its going to be a long decade for the Falcon Fans.
