Timing can speak volumes in the NFL. As potential head coaches are doing their interview rounds, teams are evaluating who their top choice is and who their backup plan is.
This year, the head coaching market was initially dry. But then John Harbaugh was hired by the New York Giants, followed by Kevin Stefanski by the Atlanta Falcons.
Now, there have been multiple jobs filled over the past few days, which has spoken volumes as to which coaches most teams had at the top of their wishlist.
Falcons clearly landed one of the top two available head coaches
Obviously, everyone wanted Harbaugh, and the Falcons were no exception.
Unfortunately, the Giants pulled out all the stops to convince him to join the New York market. However, the Dirty Birds were happy to turn their sights to the former Cleveland Browns head coach, whom they were able to hire before any other team had a legit chance to beat them to the punch.
Then on Monday, two more jobs were filled: the Miami Dolphins hired Jeff Hafley and the Tennessee Titans hired Robert Saleh. Notice how these came off the heels of Atlanta and New York hiring their head coaches? Both of those teams were interested in the Falcons' new head coach.
The Raiders, Titans, and Ravens also had interest. There are six remaining jobs: the Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Las Vegas Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cleveland Browns. Expect to see most of those jobs fill fast.
Harbaugh and Stefanski were the dam. Now that they are off the market, things should continue moving quickly.
The only thing that will hold it up are teams targeting coaches in the middle of a playoff run. Those names include Klint Kubiak, Vance Joseph, Chris Shula, Davis Webb, and Nate Scheelhaase. One of those teams will undoubtedly wait for Kubiak's season to end. The other candidates are far from guaranteed a top job.
For Falcons fans, what all of this means is their team got one of the most well-respected head coaches. He took the Browns to the playoffs twice, which is about as big a feat as you could ever have. He also did it with unsteady quarterback situations.
You also have to point out the fact that the two-time AP Coach of the Year chose the Falcons. He certainly would've had other offers -- possibly from the Bills and Ravens.
The two sides of the situation speak volumes for where this team is headed.