Falcons hire Mike Nolan as new defensive coordinator
We know that Mike Nolan likes to wear suits. We'll have to see if needs some advice on bow-ties. (Associated Press)
The Falcons hired Mike Nolan, who received his start in coaching from Dan Reeves, as their new defensive coordinator on Tuesday.
He replaces Brian VanGorder, who left the team last week to become Auburn’s new defensive coordinator.
Nolan is considered a 3-4 coach. But Falcons coach Mike Smith’s respect for him from their days together in Baltimore runs deep. They will blend the principles of Nolan’s 3-4 with Smith’s 4-3.
The Falcons hired Dirk Koetter as offensive coordinator on Sunday.
Team owner Arthur Blank expects the new coordinators to bring a new set of eyes and expertise to the team.
“Their ability . . . to be totally objective, cold-hearted and unemotional about the young men that we have on the roster [should be an asset],” Blank said. “[We’ll] bring in some folks that will be able to give us maybe some new perspective, maybe some different perspective not only on team questions, but on player issues that we may have as well.”
Despite revamping the secondary and trying to bolster the pass rush, the Falcons struggled to improve their pass defense. Since 2008, they’ve ranked 21st (2008, 220.4), 28th (2009, 241.9), 22nd (2010, 226.6) and 20th (2011, 236.6).
“Moving forward, this defense needs to continue its growth and evolution as a passionate and fiery defense, one that is going to fly to the football, disrupt, be opportunistic and capitalized on opportunities to turn the game around; flip the game in critical situations,” general manager Thomas Dimitroff said. “We’ll look for a coordinator who will [aid] Coach Smith and his approach to putting that type of aggressive defense on the field.”
Nolan has been a defensive coordinator in the NFL for 14 seasons. He also was San Francisco’s head coach from 2005 to 2008.
“Mike Nolan is an established coordinator in this League,” said Falcons head coach Mike Smith in a statement released by the team. “He brings more than 25 years of NFL experience to our team and has been a coordinator at this level for 14 years. Mike has a history of developing physically intimidating defensive units, and we are fortunate to have him join our staff.”
Nolan spent the last two seasons as the Miami Dolphins’ defensive coordinator.
Last season, the Dolphins boasted the third best run defense in the NFL, allowing just 95.6 yards per game and 3.7 yards per carry. His defense also produced 41 sacks which ranked tied for 10th in the NFL and allowed the sixth fewest points per game at 19.6. The Dolphins also ranked seventh in third-down percentage (33.8) and sixth in red zone defense, holding opponents to a 44.2 touchdown percentage inside the 20.
In 2010, Nolan’s defense ranked among the league’s top ten in overall defense, pass defense and run defense, and was one of just five units in the League to accomplish that feat. Nolan joined Miami after spending the 2009 season as the defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos. Under his tutelage, Denver’s defense improved to seventh in the NFL in total defense after finishing 29th in 2008. Denver’s pass defense was equally impressive, ranking third in the NFL, allowing just 186.3 yards per game through the air.
Prior to joining the Broncos’ staff, Nolan served as the San Francisco 49ers’ head coach from 2005 to 2008. During Nolan’s four-year tenure with the club, the 49ers were one of the NFL’s most consistent teams in stopping the run. San Francisco ranked fourth in the league in yards per carry during that period surrendering just 3.9 yards per rush.
Nolan spent four seasons in Baltimore from 2001 to 2004, including the last three as the defensive coordinator. Nolan’s group tied for the NFL lead in takeaways (106) while ranking fifth in the league in both points per game allowed (18.8) and third down percentage (34.7). He also coached five Ravens defenders to nine trips to the Pro Bowl, while tutoring back-to-back AP Defensive Players of the Year in LB Ray Lewis (2003) and S Ed Reed (2004).
The New York Giants made Nolan the NFL’s youngest defensive coordinator in 1993 at the age of 34. He spent the next eight seasons as a defensive coordinator with the Giants (1993-96), Redskins (1997-99) and Jets (2000). In his first year with the Giants, his defense led the League allowing just 12.8 points per game. His coaching career began at his alma mater, Oregon University, where he served as a graduate assistant in 1981. He went on to coach at Stanford University and Rice University as a linebackers and defensive backs coach before the Denver Broncos hired him to be the special teams/linebackers coach in 1987. He spent six seasons with the Broncos and helped the team reach the Super Bowl in the 1987 and 1989 seasons.
–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
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404 comments Add your comment
Matt
January 17th, 2012
3:35 pm
I love this hire. Finally a real Pro Defensive Coordinator.
Chris
January 17th, 2012
3:35 pm
Who knows…maybe Smith is gone and Spags will be hired as HC….Arthur didnt turn Home Depot into another Ace Hardware
Great Falconi
January 17th, 2012
3:35 pm
This is a good hire.
Sid
January 17th, 2012
3:36 pm
ICE MELTS IN RAIN January 17th, 2012 3:20 pm
Another safe “good ole boy” hire by Smith…
*********************************************************
If it’s raining you wouldn’t have ice in the first place.
I don’t see this as a good ole boy hire………..don’t you think if it was Smith would have went with comfort………..in another words a 4-3 coach……..? I am glad to see them bring Nolan in.
GT GRAD
January 17th, 2012
3:36 pm
I think we are much better at OC and DC!
We need better OL players, a solid OL coach and a true 3-4 nose tackle. I would like to see us trade Turner for draft picks or an impact player.
Roark
January 17th, 2012
3:37 pm
This appears to be a good hire ATL!
dled…I realize that you were playing catch-up after Shefter broke the story on ESPN earlier….but come on. When are you going to learn how to do basic subject verb agreement?
Falcons_in_the_house
January 17th, 2012
3:37 pm
TD.. You get A from me on this hire…Look at his track record as a DC…He’s one of the BEST
ccon
January 17th, 2012
3:37 pm
Falcons win! Fastest-hiring sons-of-guns in the NFL!!
joey563
January 17th, 2012
3:37 pm
Who is the guy in the picture on the main page? That is the Dolphins but isn’t Nolan.
E-Roll
January 17th, 2012
3:39 pm
Also I am hearing on the radio that we will go with a hybrid 3-4 which is a switch back and forth between the 3-4 base and the 4-3 from time to time so we have the personnel in place except for the 340 lb. NG.
mark
January 17th, 2012
3:39 pm
this guy is a solid coach! very solid guy al the teams he has coach step up on d nice! he made the 49ers d broncos d and fins d about time to bring a proven coach who dosent doubt to call on the blitz, this is gonna be good year!
Impressed
January 17th, 2012
3:40 pm
Good Hire
REF
January 17th, 2012
3:40 pm
Shows that a good coach is eager to bring this Atlanta program into a champion!
joey563
January 17th, 2012
3:40 pm
need a 3-4 NT, time to get Grady Jackson. Bring him home TD… lol
D'ville Phil
January 17th, 2012
3:40 pm
this was AWESOME hire……you guys that don’t think so are IDIOTS. It means you don’t know football. Mike Nolan’s defenses have been great every where he has been – Baltimore, San Francisco, Denver and Miami.
Proven winner…..
mountain_jim
January 17th, 2012
3:41 pm
Great hire! Go away trolls!
(last post got intercepted for me saying what I really think about the trolls here)
eddy
January 17th, 2012
3:41 pm
The scheme doesn’t matter if you do not have the defensive personnel. Take a look at each individual on the defensive line then the linebackers. Look at teams that really do play defense and compare their personnel with Falcons’ personnel. Minimal pass rush, minimal sacks, minimal pressure on QB, cannot stop the run nor pass…kinda sums it up. Defense is something the Falcons do because the other team has the ball not because they are really good at it.
mark
January 17th, 2012
3:41 pm
E-Roll ur on the money! i miss grady jackson lol!
falCANS
January 17th, 2012
3:41 pm
MIKE NOLAN WAS THE SECOND BEST OPTION AVAILABLE AND TOP 5 IN THE LEAGUE ALL TOGETHER!!!! AND YALL STILL COMPLAIN??? WOW NAME A TEAM NOLAN WAS APART OF WITHOUY A GOOD TO GREAT DEFENSE… DORKS
ohhhhYEAH
January 17th, 2012
3:42 pm
Wow. Makes me feel a little more confident that Koetter wasn’t just a “quick safe hire.” Now, let’s go get Mario Williams in free agency and steal Carl Nicks from the Saints before they re sign him
Michael M.
January 17th, 2012
3:42 pm
@ Sir Real…………………..that is so true. This Team can’t do worse with these new hires…its a win-win situation. I think we are going to get a much improved Football Team overall from all of this
Threadkiller
January 17th, 2012
3:42 pm
I wish some of you guys could read!
mountain_jim
January 17th, 2012
3:43 pm
Spags is going to play all the other teams against each other, like the Tuna did against us/Blank. TD and Smith win this round!
Paddy O
January 17th, 2012
3:43 pm
I’d prefer us to lean toward 3-4 – either way, blitz the crap out the QB & drop the soft swiss cheese zone.
mark
January 17th, 2012
3:44 pm
yes we can play a 3-4 d we need 2 more players to stuff the line because or ng are very slim but aint nothing worse than having a porn star running ur d! at least this guys has some class
mountain_jim
January 17th, 2012
3:45 pm
Poster at Pat’s blog says: Paul Soliai, NT in MIA, is a FA this year…
Possibly bring him over here to be that big body up front for us…
Rcky_Mtn_Falcon
January 17th, 2012
3:45 pm
@atlppal ….. Spags has no idea where he wants to go yet, now the Colts have jumped into the Spags derby.
So the Stanks will be waiting for him to make a decision.
ohhhhYEAH
January 17th, 2012
3:45 pm
Mike M
Glad to see you in a better mood today friend!!
DawgFan
January 17th, 2012
3:46 pm
They can’t switch overnight to a 3-4, and our roster is currently set for a 4-3. It would take a year at least to change over to the 3-4, but it could be done. Some teams do well in the 3-4. I personally don’t like it, but I’m a 4-3 guy at heart.
My biggest gripe with this hire is that it does seem like Mike Smith and Thomas Dimitroff are setting up a “Good Ol’ Boy” network of coaches. Spagnuolo would likely have been a better hire, but at least we’ve brought in guys that have a history with the Head Coach, so team chemistry won’t have to be built.
lombardi
January 17th, 2012
3:46 pm
In addition to this being great news for our younger, developing talent, this should make the Birds very attractive to several F/A d-Men out there.
Opie Taylor
January 17th, 2012
3:47 pm
D-Led, Nolan is a great coach but this quote below from Dimitroff is very misleading and bogus after watching Mike Smith’s passive defenses for four years.
Moving forward, this defense needs to continue its growth and evolution as a passionate and fiery defense, one that is going to fly to the football, disrupt, be opportunistic and capitalized on opportunities to turn the game around; flip the game in critical situations,” general manager Thomas Dimitroff said. “We’ll look for a coordinator who will [aid] Coach Smith and his approach to putting that type of aggressive defense on the field.” When has Smith’s units in Jacksonville and Atlanta ever been aggressive? Please show me so I can dispute it.
Is AID Mike Smith a Code Word for Vanilla Scheme, Business as Usual, Yes Man, I have a problem with Mike Smith continuing to hire his buddies. If you hired your friends, they will only agree with you and tell you the BS you want to hear. Where will the objectivity come from? When Dimitroff drafts another bust, and he will in April, will the defensive coordinator have the testicles to tell him that he wants someone else and Dimitroff’s choice does not fit his scheme? I doubt it.
Last week on several blogs I stated that Smith would hire his friends to fill both OC/DC positions instead of improving this team, damn if he didn’t prove me right!! This was the one time I was hoping I was wrong about this idiott!!!
SirReal
January 17th, 2012
3:48 pm
@Michael M. So do I. This hire alone has restored optimism with many of us. You’ll always find those who just arent satisfied but who cares.lol I have wanted to see a 3-4 with the LBs we have for a while now. Shifting to a 4-3/3-4 hybrid is gonna give offensive coordinators all kinds of fits.LOL
truth
January 17th, 2012
3:48 pm
lol at people complaiing that we dont have 3-4 personnel.. We dont even have 4-3 personnel .. No pass rush, no coverage, no pressure lol
Lets try something different.. cant do any worse
Edward
January 17th, 2012
3:48 pm
What Arthur Blank expects and what will be delivered. I think he and us fans will be disappointed.
Michael M.
January 17th, 2012
3:48 pm
@ E-Roll………….A Hybrid 3-4 4-3 change-up at the line………..that should be very interesting to see play out of the field
Falcons_in_the_house
January 17th, 2012
3:48 pm
Rumors has it.. Spags agent didn’t return a call… that’s why they moved to Nolan.. because they didn’t want to loose him either.
mountain_jim
January 17th, 2012
3:49 pm
I can’t imagine why anyone gripes about this hire. Sheesh. Wait for Spags, and get Lewis? What a joke.
falcon1fan
January 17th, 2012
3:49 pm
yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
i told you we are heading in the right place all it took was for arthur to get mad
bird
January 17th, 2012
3:49 pm
Shoz, really?
Ackshun
January 17th, 2012
3:50 pm
3-4 has been the dominant and most successful defensive scheme in the NFL for the past few decades. But they are going to need immediate improvements with personnel to make this work. If Smith is on the bubble Nolan would make a good head coach and I am sure that was a consideration.
Michael M.
January 17th, 2012
3:50 pm
If you add the no-huddle in the mix on offense you are going to drive alot of these other teams absolutely nutsssssssssss
Some of you are pathetic
January 17th, 2012
3:50 pm
To think this is a bad hire is to be uniformed, blind, ignorant or a Saints fan. This is a GREAT hire.
bird
January 17th, 2012
3:51 pm
Spags will end up with the Colts.. Just my opinion.
Falcons_in_the_house
January 17th, 2012
3:51 pm
Some fans are stupid… Enjoy the hire… it’s not like he hired his boy friend.. He hired a buddy who knew from his old days….What’s wrong with you people..
Why can’t you cheer for your team..
jerseyfalcon
January 17th, 2012
3:51 pm
Good hire..However, makes you wonder if the Saints will get Spags now since they let Williams go…If the Saints get Spags the falcons will be running in place
Samuel
January 17th, 2012
3:52 pm
All I know is Nolan has a lot of exprience and a pretty good track record. Now being said that, the defensive staff can sit down and view the tapes on these players and make tough dicisions on who needs to go or be retain….
IKillTrollsAllDay
January 17th, 2012
3:53 pm
Personnel for 3-4? 4-3? Who gives a hoot! Just hit the mf with the damn ball before he crosses the line of scrimmage! Great hires all around! I was getting tired of “No Imagination Mularkey” and “Soft as Butter Van Gorder”!
ohhhhYEAH
January 17th, 2012
3:54 pm
“it’s stupid because all he did was hire a friend bald blah blah.” Yeah, he hired a friend WHO KNOWS HOW TO EFFECTIVELY RUN A DEFENSE. Get over yourselves
Hey Now
January 17th, 2012
3:55 pm
GREAT GREAT Hire. Let’s get moving in the right direction. Things are looking up.
Michael M.
January 17th, 2012
3:56 pm
I care less who the Saints get…………its what we get that matters down the road. I am thinking we are going to have an interesting Spring and Summer coming for the Atlanta Falcons.