The Washington Commanders are infamous for having seemingly every successful head coach in the NFL spend time in Ashburn in one role or another, but they aren't the only franchise that has featured several notable names on their coaching staffs. Remember what new Commanders head coach Dan Quinn did in Atlanta?
Back when Quinn was the head coach for the Atlanta Falcons, he assembled a coaching staff that included four men who are now head coaches in the league. That staff helped lead Atlanta to the Super Bowl in the 2016 season, where the Falcons fell to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in historic fashion.
Quinn's known ability to manufacture a coaching staff should have Washington fans excited about the future. Let's take a look back at that 2016 Falcons staff.
HC: Dan Quinn
Quinn was just hired to be the new head coach of the Commanders after serving as the defensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys for three seasons. Quinn notably helped develop some of the biggest defensive stars in football such as Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs. He also helped second-year cornerback DaRon Bland have an explosive 2023 campaign, as he set the NFL record for most interceptions returned for a touchdown (5), while leading the NFL in interceptions with nine.
Quinn went 43-42 during his time with the Falcons before being fired in 2020 following an 0-5 start. Now, he finds himself a lead man once again.
OC: Kyle Shanahan
One of the best head coaches in the NFL, Shanahan has the San Francisco 49ers back in the Super Bowl once again. As Atlanta's offensive coordinator in 2016 when the Falcons made the Super Bowl, Atlanta had the No. 2 offense (415.8 total yards per game), and No. 1 scoring offense (33.8 points per game) while quarterback Matt Ryan won MVP.
Shanahan fielded two MVP favorites this past season in quarterback Brock Purdy and running back Christian McCaffrey. His offense ranked No. 2 in yards and No. 3 in points.
Assistant HC: Raheem Morris
Like Quinn, Morris is another head coach that landed a big job this offseason, as he's headed back to Atlanta to serve as the head coach of the Falcons. Morris spent the past three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams as their defensive coordinator, helping L.A. win the Super Bowl in their home stadium back during the 2021 season. He worked as the assistant head coach, pass game coordinator and wide receivers coach for the Falcons from 2015-19, and defensive coordinator in 2020. When Quinn was fired in 2020, Morris took over as the interim head coach and went 4-7. Morris was also the head coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2009-11, going 17-31.
QBs: Matt LaFleur
LaFleur served as the quarterbacks coach in Atlanta from 2015-16, then made the jump to offensive coordinator with the Rams in 2017. After one year in L.A., he took over as OC for the Tennessee Titans, where he got to call plays. After one season in Nashville, LaFleur was hired as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers.
With Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback, LaFleur won 13 games in each of his first three seasons before going 8-9 in 2022 in what was Rodgers' final season in Green Bay. LaFleur's Packers surprised some people in 2023, going 9-8 with Jordan Love under center and making the playoffs as a wild card. LaFleur gave his friend Shanahan a run for his money in the divisional round of the playoffs before the 49ers ultimately won, 24-21.
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Offensive assistant: Mike LaFleur
The younger LaFleur is still looking for his first NFL head-coaching gig, but he's an offensive mind who has served as a coordinator in the league for three straight seasons now. After the 2016 season with the Falcons, LaFleur followed Shanahan to San Francisco, and worked as the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach for four seasons. In 2021, he followed Robert Saleh to New York to serve as the Jets' offensive coordinator for two seasons. After parting ways with the organization last offseason, he joined McVay as his offensive coordinator with the Rams.
Offensive assistant: Mike McDaniel
McDaniel was put on a fast track to head coach after serving as the run-game coordinator and then offensive coordinator for the 49ers under Shanahan. He was an OC for just one year and never called plays, but the Miami Dolphins wanted McDaniel in South Beach, and it's worked out. The Dolphins had the No. 1 offense in the league this past season, and were tied in having the top scoring offense as well. McDaniel turned Tua Tagovailoa into an MVP candidate in 2023, even though Miami did fade toward the end of the year. McDaniel went 9-8 in 2022, and 11-6 in 2023. He's made the playoffs in both of his first two seasons.
LBs: Jeff Ulbrich
The former third-round pick of the 49ers spent 10 seasons as a linebacker before getting into coaching. Ulbrich was with the Falcons from 2015-20 as a linebackers coach, and added assistant head coach and defensive coordinator titles in his final season with Atlanta. Afterward, he joined the Jets as their defensive coordinator, where he remains today.
Ulbrich works with what is really one of the best defenses in the NFL, but that unit has been brought down by the offense.
