Next Atlanta Falcons head coach odds: Could Urban Meyer be a realistic candidate?

In a move that wasn't much of a surprise, the Atlanta Falcons fired coach Dan Quinn and general manger Thomas Dimitroff after the team dropped to 0-5 with Sunday's home loss to the rebuilding Carolina Panthers. Both guys were nearly canned last year when the team was 1-7, but a 6-2 close to the season saved their jobs temporarily. SportsLine oddsmakers have put out a list of potential Falcons head coaching candidates for next season.

Raheem Morris, a former head coach of the Bucs, is the interim coach and would seem to have a realistic shot at the full-time gig if the Falcons play better the rest of 2020. Owner Arthur Blank probably would need to hire a GM before a coach unless he wants to give one guy all the power, which seems unlikely.

Team president and CEO Rich McKay has assumed day-to-day oversight of football operations for now and will assist Blank in the search for a new general manager and coach. In an interesting twist, Blank said that QB Matt Ryan's future with the team will depend on what the new GM and coach want to do at the position.

Ryan is a former NFL MVP but has gone 14-22 straight up as a starter since the beginning of 2018. Atlanta could have a Top 3 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and a shot at either Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence or Ohio State's Justin Fields. Realistically, the Falcons can't cut Ryan lose for financial reasons until after the 2021 season, but they could always trade him this winter.

A lot of the Falcons' coaching candidates overlap with those for the Houston Texans, who dumped coach/GM Bill O'Brien following Week 4.

Former Ohio State and Florida coach Urban Meyer would be a grand slam hire for Blank and would certainly make the fans happy, but Meyer has zero NFL experience and may want to return to a college sideline if he wants to coach again (USC? Notre Dame?). The two-time national champion was mentioned as a possible replacement if Quinn was fired after last season (see above tweet from Washington Post writer Mark Maske).

Quinn was a defensive-minded guy so Blank may prefer an offensive mind like Meyer or Oklahoma's Lincoln Riley, or current NFL offensive coordinators such as Eric Bieniemy (Chiefs), Brian Daboll (Bills), Greg Roman (Ravens), Josh McDaniels (Patriots), Byron Leftwich (Bucs), Brian Schottenheimer (Seahawks), Arthur Smith (Titans) or Joe Brady (Panthers).

Atlanta is a 3.5-point underdog for Week 6 at Minnesota (which also might be looking for a coach this offseason). 

Via SportsLine NFL oddsmakers: Who will be the Falcons' head coach Week 1 of the 2021 season?

• Eric Bieniemy +300
• Brian Daboll +400
• Greg Roman +500
• Josh McDaniels +700
• Byron Leftwich +900
• Brian Schottenheimer +1000
• Raheem Morris +1200
• Arthur Smith +1500
• Urban Meyer +1800
• Joe Brady +2000
• Lincoln Riley +2500
• Dabo Swinney +3000

Who wins every NFL game this week? And which teams cover more than 50 percent of the time? Get picks here from the SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times and ranked in the Top 10 on NFLPickWatch three of the past four years on straight-up NFL picks.