Bob Sutton finds new home with Atlanta Falcons
By Matt Conner
The Atlanta Falcons have offered Bob Sutton a place to land after he was fired by the Kansas City Chiefs after six seasons.
The Kansas City Chiefs fired Bob Sutton after he served six years with the team as defensive coordinator earlier this offseason, but it didn’t take long for Sutton to find at least a temporary plae to land. NFL analyst Field Yates is reporting that Sutton has been hired by the Atlanta Falcons as a “senior assistant.”
The Falcons have remade their entire staff this offseason under head coach Dan Quinn, who let go of his offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator. While replacements have been found on offense (Dirk Koetter) and special teams (Ben Kotwica), Quinn himself will take over defensive playcalling duties. Here’s where Sutton might come in.
The Chiefs got rid of Sutton after a disastrous season that included multiple losses despite scoring dozens of points. The Chiefs scored 51 and lost to the L.A. Rams. They put up 40 points on the New England Patriots during the regular season and lost, and then scored another 31 in the second half alone in the playoffs and, once again, lost. Andy Reid, the team’s head coach, replaced Sutton with Steve Spagnuolo.
Sutton ran the Chiefs defense for the last six seasons and even in a year that he was canned, the team led the National Football League in sacks (tied with Pittsburgh Steelers). Sutton’s defenses also enjoyed some good seasons earlier in this tenure with the Chiefs. The lack of adjustments is maddening, but Sutton does have something to add to a staff.