Falcons Head Coach Dan Quinn
Having a top quarterback in the NFL makes everything considerably easier.
I know, that's a ground breaking statement to make to open up a blog post. Feel free to begin unleashing your sarcasm against me now...
But with the NFL rule changes of 2005, this era of NFL football is defined by quarterbacks. If your team has a good one, you are typically always amongst the best teams in football...(exclude 2013-2014 Falcons please)
Matt Ryan is among the top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL during his career. If recent history is any indicator, Ryan will make new Falcons coach Dan Quinn a winner. It's really hard to screw up a team and make them non-competitive as long as they have a upper echelon quarterback...(see 2013-2014 Falcons)
What follows, give or take a win or two, are the coaching records for those who have recently had top NFL quarterbacks. You'll notice that playoff success often determines which quarterbacks and coaches are highly thought of and which ones are not. But ALL of them are regular season winners because of the guys playing the toughest position in all of sports. This bodes well for Dan Quinn...(hopefully)
Peyton Manning
Tony Dungy 85-27 (54-42 in Tampa)
Jim Caldwell 24-8 with Peyton in Indy
John Fox 46-18 (73-71 Carolina)
Aaron Rodgers
Mike McCarthy 94-49
Tom Brady
Bill Belichick 160-47 (36-44 in Cleveland)
Russell Wilson
Pete Carroll 36-12
Tony Romo
Wade Phillips 34-20
Jason Garrett 41-29
Joe Flacco
John Harbaugh 72-40
Matt Ryan
Mike Smith 66-44
Drew Brees
Sean Payton 80-48
Eli Manning
Tom Coughlin 96-80
Ben Roethlisberger
Mike Tomlin 82-46
Bill Cowher 34-14
Andrew Luck
Chuck Pagano 33-15
Phillip Rivers
Mike McCoy 18-14
Norv Turner 56-40