Falcons add coaches Travis Jones, Aden Durde to NFL’s No. 9 defense

The Atlanta Falcons have hired Travis Jones and Aden Durde to add coaching depth to one of the best defenses in football.

The defensive line played an integreal role in why the Atlanta Falcons’ defense was so dominant in 2017 and won games in which the offense struggled. It was comprised of Grady Jarrett, Dontari Poe, Adrian Clayborn, Brooks Reid, Derrick Shelby, and rookie Takkarist McKinley.

While Poe and Clayborn departed in free agency, the defensive line still looks solid with McKinley entering the starting lineup and the first round of the draft being aimed at acquiring a defensive tackle.

Atlanta has now added former Seahawks defensive line coach Travis Jones and former NFLUK head of football development Aden Durde, per Will McFadden of AtlantaFalcons.com. Jones will serve as the assistant defensive line coach and Durde will be the defensive quality control assistant.

Jones has ties to head coach Dan Quinn as Quinn was the defensive coordinator at Seattle while Jones was the defensive line coach during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Jones is also connected to the state of Georgia as he was a graduate assistant at the University of Georgia in 1997.

His defensive line role at Seattle was from 2013-16 and he concluded his tenure in Seattle in the 2017 season as he served as the senior defensive assistant. Durde’s roles with the NFLUK included developing players overseas for their NFL careers.

If there is a lesson to be learned from the Falcons’ free agency leading up to the NFL Draft, it’s all about being patient. Dirty Bird nation was angry at first due to the Falcons not being aggressive in the early stages of free agency but then they started to pick up the pace.

Next: Top 20 Falcons Games Of All-Time

They signed 49ers tight end Logan Paulsen, 49ers guard Brandon Fusco, 4-time Pro Bowler Justin Bethel from the Cardinals, and now two quality defensive coaches who will be working with a top-10 defense.