Atlanta Falcons: How long of a leash does Kyle Shanahan have?
Is Atlanta Falcons’ OC Kyle Shanahan on a short leash heading into year two of contract?
All-in-all, two people took the most blame for the Atlanta Falcons’ mid-season collapse in 2015, Matt Ryan and Kyle Shanahan.
And because Ryan has been here since 2008 and has led this Falcons’ team to a near Super Bowl berth in 2012, the majority of the blame was placed on the first-year offensive coordinator.
As unfair as it may be to place the blame mainly on a guy that was new to the team, Shanahan’s overly difficult playbook cost the Falcons when it counted the most.
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Shanahan’s offensive system is no match made in heaven for Ryan. The offense doesn’t allow Ryan to play as free as he needs to and that was blatantly obvious last season. Ryan, who is known for calling a lot of audible’s and changing the play after his initial reads were not “allowed” under Shanahan’s offense. Not because Shanahan wouldn’t let him, but because it would be too difficult to switch to a play that is already difficult to set up.
Shanahan is not a bad offensive coordinator. But is he hard to work with? Absolutely. He’s the type of offensive coordinator that get’s better with age. This isn’t a coordinator that you work with and feel comfortable with right away. It takes time to really master the playbook and Ryan and the rest of the offense just weren’t able to comprehend all of it in year one.
But with that being said, Ryan has already stated that he feels much more comfortable with Shanahan’s playbook. Ryan may not be a top 5 quarterback in the NFL, but he’s more than capable of leading this team to a Super Bowl. All he needs is a coordinator that he can trust and we’re not so sure Shanahan is that guy.
If it came down to picking either Ryan or Shanahan after the 2016 season, it’s rather obvious as to which guy Atlanta would stick with. If our QB1 is still struggling to grasp the playbook and the rest of the players around him are as well, then you can kiss Shanahan’s tenure in Atlanta goodbye.
Next: How many wide receivers should the Falcons keep in 2016?
Or you can just wish him good riddance.