The Atlanta Falcons struggled through two abysmal back-to-back losing seasons before getting off to a nice 3-0 start this year. Although their record may oversell the team's actual ability at the moment, there's no denying the upswing the offense has experienced under new offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan.
As of right now, Matt Ryan is third in the NFL in passing yards with 946 while the Falcons rank third in yards per game (411.7) and fifth in points (29.7). As a result of their current success, the refreshed Ryan may lose his trusted shot caller on offense next year.
"Put Atlanta Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan near the top of any watch list for head coaching vacancies at the end of the season," Tom Pelissero of USA Today Sports wrote.
"His creativity in getting Atlanta's offense humming early, and getting the ball in Julio Jones' hands despite all the attention defenses are paying to the star receiver, are reminders of why the 35-year-old was so highly regarded dating to his days working with Matt Schaub in Houston."
Maintaining perspective is important in situations like these. Shanahan devised a brilliant scheme to take full advantage of Robert Griffin III's skillset back in 2012, but failed to consistently put him in positions to succeed after that. While the blame for that obviously can't be put squarely on his shoulders alone, the entire RGIII situation could have been handled better by all those involved. Shanahan's lone season in Cleveland was also forgettable, but that was with Brian Hoyer under center.
Still, Shanahan was interviewed for the open head coaching position with the Buffalo Bills this offseason. Though that job ultimately went to Rex Ryan, the fact that Shanahan was in the conversation says something.
Ryan is currently sporting his highest passer rating (98.6) since the Falcons last made the playoffs in 2012. We'll have to check back on that score once the regular season is over, but all the early signs are encouraging. New head coach Dan Quinn deserves much of the credit for overhauling this team to a certain extent. But his hire of Shanahan is paying off early right now.
