Shakeup continues as Alvin Reynolds is fired
MOBILE — Defensive backs coach Alvin Reynolds, an original member of head coach Mike Smith’s staff, was fired, the team announced on Monday.
Alvin Reynolds
The Falcons have been undergoing an intensive review of their football operations since they were blown out 24-2 by the New York Giants in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs on Jan. 8.
Reynolds spent four seasons with the team.
“We would like to thank Coach Reynolds for his dedication and hard work over the last four seasons,” Smith said in a statement released by the team. “We wish him all of the best.”
Reynolds, who’s coached in the NFL for 18 seasons, became the fifth coach from last season’s staff to either be fired or leave for another position.
Former offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey left to become the head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Former defensive coordiantor Brian VanGorder left to take the same position at Auburn.
Quarterbacks coach Bob Bratkowski left to become the offensive coordinator in Jacksonville. Offensive line coach Paul Boudreau was released from his contract and has since been named the offensive line coach for the St. Louis Rams.
Dirk Koetter and Mike Nolan have been named as the new coordinators. The Falcons are looking for three assistant coaches for the quarterbacks, offensive line and defensive backs.
While there have been some breakthroughs in the secondary, the pass defense has not improved significantly.
Since 2008, they’ve ranked 21st (2008, 220.4), 28th (2009, 241.9), 22nd (2010, 226.6) and 20th (2011, 236.6) in pass defense.
From 2003-07, Reynolds served as the defensive backs Coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. During his tenure with the Jaguars, he guided a secondary that ranked fourth in the AFC after totaling 20 interceptions (tying a team record) in 2007, led by rookie safety Reggie Nelson’s five picks. In 2006, cornerback Rashean Mathis led the club with a team-record eight interceptions en route to a Pro Bowl bid as Jacksonville set a franchise high with 20 interceptions.
Reynolds coached the Carolina Panthers for four seasons (1999-2002) as a defensive assistant. He was present with the Baltimore Ravens for its first three seasons in franchise history (1996-98) as the secondary coach and started his NFL career with the Denver Broncos (1993-95).
Throughout his career, Reynolds has worked with the likes of safeties Steve Atwater and Dennis Smith in Denver and Pro Football Hall of Famer Rod Woodson in Baltimore. With the Panthers, he worked with then-defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, helping with tape breakdown, game plan preparation and statistical tendencies. He also worked with the Carolina secondary.
–D. Orlando Ledbetter, The Atlanta Falcons beat blog
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123 comments Add your comment
Chop Buster
January 23rd, 2012
6:19 pm
Brownie looks like that old axiom still applies today. I look at these teams in the championship games and none of them have defensive players that look like they just graduated from H.S. (Decoud, Robinson, Grimes, Owens, etc.). These teams have above average sized players, they can run with the best receivers/TEs, and bring the wood when necessary. Oh, and they don’t swat at the ball like a kid trying to jump and get something from someone’s hands who’s taller. Stop bringing these little boys here to play a man’s game.
garcia
January 23rd, 2012
6:27 pm
BUSTED COVERAGE. How many times have we heard that statement during a crucial 3rd and long?
Put that on the coaching. We have DB’s that have the physical abilities to play well in this league. Why has there been so much confusion back there? Blame the scheme, blame the coaching.
Time for some real coaching and proper preparation. Make it happen Nolan.
Lamar
January 23rd, 2012
6:30 pm
WHEN YOU HAVE PLAYERS LIKE DUNTA ROBINSON COVERING GUYS, YOU ARE WAY BEHIND THE 8 BALL!! ROBINSON HAS TO BE THE WORST CB I HAVE EVER WATCHED IN THE NFL!! SURELY THEY WILL CUT HIM, IF NOT, IT WILL NOT MATTER WHO COACHES THE SECONDARY!! PATHETIC!! FREE AGENCY?? HOPE ROBINSON WAS NOT PAID IF HE WAS, WE GOT RIPPED!!
Brownie
January 23rd, 2012
6:42 pm
Don’t pretend to be an expert, but I don’t know how Dunta Robinson could have gone from pretty good to awful that quickly (and he’s not gotten old). Maybe it’s because he got his money.
I’m gonna give him the benefit of the doubt for one more season (or at least part of it) and say it was a really bad scheme for his skill set. In fact, BVG’s perpetual soft zone was routinely picked apart, and you couple that with little or no pass rush, and it’s a wonder we ever stopped anyone. Thankfully, our linebackers are damn good.
I’d like to see Nolan play more man coverage, and I think that might fit better with Robinson’s game. We’ll see.
thouhtful
January 23rd, 2012
6:46 pm
Yeah bt what about drafting mistakes???? What about drafting guys too high????? What about not aquiring the right FREE AGENTS????? What about keeping medium type players who they get attached to, too long?? You got to look at who is making the Personal decisions. Who is making the Draft day decisions. You got to look at every position and ask yourself is this SUPER BOWL quality? The Falcons are blowing this up and I don’t know if this is the right move.
JONESBORO SLIM
January 23rd, 2012
6:56 pm
Lamar
Robinson not going anywhere he’s under a big contract…besides the way the had the DB’s playing 5 to 10 yards off recievers…Robinson played better at Houston where he could be up on the line and “chuck” the WR within the 5 yard area..
steven a
January 23rd, 2012
7:29 pm
In all absolute honesty, Mr. Nolan should be the head coach. He even looks like he has a higher football IQ than Smiity.
flagger
January 23rd, 2012
7:30 pm
Last time i looked there wasn’t any donkeys in the Kentucky derby. It the same as coaching in little league.. you win most of your games when you choose your players.. which is to say u can lead a
horse to water but can’t make him drink..silk purse from a sows ear and all that Jazz. Plus when u pat the big bucks to Big play Ray and Dunta know how to cover… its like peeing in a cash register after a while it runs into money…
steven a
January 23rd, 2012
7:32 pm
I was active U S Air Force for 20 years. I have worked with officers and enlisted. Smitty is a lot closer to that Sergeant than he is the Officer that you need to lead your football team.
steven a
January 23rd, 2012
7:36 pm
Thomas Decoud and Duante Robinson should be exiled to the “Siberia” of the NFL(Buffalo) They were absolutely atrocious when it mattered. Need 1 starting corner and safety FAST. Back-up QB wanted. FIRE Chris Redman and JPW, BOTH ARE SCRUBS.
steven a
January 23rd, 2012
7:40 pm
Next, Michael “too slow” Turner must GO!!! I want all of my running backs 28 years of AGE and under. Men reach their peak athletically at age 27.
JONESBORO SLIM
January 23rd, 2012
7:41 pm
steven a
You and others keep saying the DB’s and Safeties are the problems…you forgot about the DT’s and a PASS rush
greg
January 23rd, 2012
7:44 pm
Come on man. The Falcons D line had Tavaris Jackson looking like an all pro. If you cant rush the quarterback then your secondary is going to get eaten alive. Get some real defensive linemen and a killer for a defensive end and we will improve drasticly.
TD has no clue!
January 23rd, 2012
7:49 pm
Good riddance. NEXT!!!!!!
TD has no clue!
January 23rd, 2012
7:50 pm
TD and Smitty should be next.
JONESBORO SLIM
January 23rd, 2012
7:55 pm
I tell you people keep listening to the “Old-school” jocks and “Talkingheads” along with Chris Berman on ESPN who never played a DOWN in his life and using the stolen line that Howard Cosell popularized “BACK BACK BACK”……pleazzzzzzz
Wink
January 23rd, 2012
8:02 pm
@Brownie
Could not agree more. The scheme was lousy, an entire game of prevent defense, and no pass rush. When will we fire the d-line coach, because Reynolds is being used as a scape goat, since they did not get the chance to FIRE BVG.
NO RUSH = NO QB PRESSURE, WHICH EQUALS MORE TIME TO BEAT THE DB INSIDE THE SOFT ZONE = ASTRONOMICAL SUCCESS RATE ON 3RD DOWN FOR OPPOSITION, REGARDLESS OF THE QB LEAGUE STATUS…ELITE TO 3RD STRING = HIGH SUCCESS
AGAINST FALCON SECONDARY (BVG designed not Reynolds).
In addition, press coverage, man to man, with additional men commited to get after the QB, reduces his time in pocket, which will force him to go to check down receiver ( See Matt Ryan for example…the master of the Check Down).
One and Done in the Playoffs
January 23rd, 2012
8:02 pm
I’m glad to see heads rolling after this season. Not a bad season, but not good enough for the level of talent we have on offense. Not real sure there was much talent on D other than maybe three guys so just replacing coaches won’t be all that needs to happen.
cdog
January 23rd, 2012
8:08 pm
a coach is only as good as his players he’s given to work with.coach alvin reynold was not given dbs to work with.the falcons didn’t have a defensive back after grimes was hurt, that could cover in the arena league so why fire the db coach? get some stud dbs and then you can blame coaches if they don’t workout.unclassy and bad move by mike smith.
South Georgia
January 23rd, 2012
8:18 pm
The head coach does not know what he is doing and need a new quarterback,.
GHunt
January 23rd, 2012
8:29 pm
Arthur Blank seems to have awaken from his long sleep. I think he realizes that Dimitroff and Smitty have not been the answer to his open wallet. He is giving them one more chance to get this right.
We have no first and fourth round picks in this year draft. However, their are two free agents we must acquire. They are Jermichael Finley from Green Bay and Carl Nicks from New Orlrans. we strength ourselves at TE and Guard and at the sametime we weaken two of our main rivals for the long run.
Nique
January 23rd, 2012
8:33 pm
Don’t like this firing so much, unles Nolan just has his own guy he wants. While the DB’s struggled you could tell there was huge growth in players under this coach: Grimes, Moore, Franks, & Ownes. DeCoud & Robinson haven’t showed well under him, but in the case of Thomas, its his own abilities & lack of maturity concerning reading defenses, taking the right angles, & sound tackling. & with Robinson I really believe it was the scheme, not to say there aren’t other issues there, he needs to stop sliping all the freaking time & stay on his feet, he’s also missed to many tackles as well, but nothing like DeCoud
lombardi
January 23rd, 2012
8:41 pm
It’s Nolan’s D now and that’s good. Reynolds, unfortunately, had to guide the DB’s play for Smitty soft zone via BVG.
Jockich Ahn Smelley II
January 23rd, 2012
8:47 pm
Ohhhh…..what a big move to “clean house”…..wow, what an impact the Falcons are making….What a JOKE!!! How about getting rid of Smitty, or Dimitroff, or Matty Ice……Did anyone see Flacco outperform Brady????? Hey at least the Falcons are Champions of the Regular Season!!!!!
lombardi
January 23rd, 2012
8:48 pm
@Nique though we paid too much, I liked the pik of Robinson for man-to-man — until I realized he can’t tackle. But seeing yesterday the way the Niners D has learned to bring ‘em down this year has given me the hope ;~}
OLDBUSH
January 23rd, 2012
9:03 pm
I think the Falcons are, at least, trying to make positive changes for the team. Malarkey had gotten so predictable on offense that everyone knew what they are going to do in certain situations. I never liked Van Goiter. He had some success with UGA and he had a favorable press. He leaves to go to Jacksonville. Not much there. He takes the head coaching job at Georgia Southern and was a miserable failure. He comes to the Falcons and is mediocre at best. It is time to make coaching changes. I think Arthur Blank has sent a message to Smith. Without pressure the Falcons are not going to get much better. Give them H— Arthur!
Jockich Ahn Smelley II
January 23rd, 2012
9:06 pm
Who the “F” is Alvin? Is he the Head concession manager at the Dome? WTF???!!! Make those bravado changes Falcons…..
ET
January 23rd, 2012
9:16 pm
Well, four short years ago we had never had back-to-back winning seasons. Now (after what…4 winning seasons in a row is it?) we are getting rid of a bunch of coaches because we can’t take just winning regular season games anymore…we have to have a Super Bowl baby. Boy, times have changed around here…for the better I might add.
robert
January 23rd, 2012
9:19 pm
why fire anyone other than the head coach, he is responsible for everyone he hires. mike is a nice guy but as the saying goes, nice guys finish last. if you are not first you may be second but you are still a loser.
DawgDad
January 23rd, 2012
9:21 pm
TD and Smith post four consecutive winning seasons when NO previous Falcon team had even put up back-to-back winning seasons and people are screaming for their heads??? Hmmm.
A complete Blank
January 23rd, 2012
9:28 pm
I was thinking 6-10 for Falcons in 2012 with all the latest news…….. Its looking more like a typical Falcons record with the current ownership and Carolina and the Bucs improving….. 4-12….in 2012
Michael
January 23rd, 2012
9:42 pm
All teams need players. This ain’t fantasy football.
PDQ
January 23rd, 2012
9:55 pm
Hey, Blank! Yeah, you, numb nuts. How ’bout firing the Head Idiot who hired all these “butt buddies” from the Jaguars in the first place??
What Pass Defense?!
January 23rd, 2012
10:04 pm
The secondary coach needs to go next. Time to clean house and start fresh. Maybe??? for the first time in at least a decade the Falcons will field and play a functional secondary in pass defense. I am tired of watching WRs catch passes against our soft zone coverage where our DBs are so far away they are not in the televised picture with the WR when the catch is made. It is past time to stop covering specific spots on the field and start covering opposing players.
d.carter
January 23rd, 2012
10:12 pm
24-2….. WE SCORED 2 POINTS…..2 SOUNDS LIKE A QB PROBLEM…LET ME GET THIS CORRECT PEOPLE SAY THAT THE OFFENSIVE LINE WAS TO BLAME FOR MATT RYANS FAILURES ? (LACK OF POCKET PRESENSE) BUT HOWEVER ITS TIME TO GET RID OF MICHAEL TURNER BECAUSE HE HAD A BAD 1300 YARD SEASON?
PDQ
January 23rd, 2012
10:13 pm
DawgDad, Don’t usually respond to posts but the talent far exceeds the coaching staff. That falls on the Head Coach. And TD who refuses to fire him. And Blank who seems to have no clue about anything. If folks are happy just making the play-offs and losing — then Smith is your guy. Some fans want a championship here. Some since 1966. The idea of firing everybody under you that Smith himself hired — ranks of panic at best — and insanity at worst! He’s lost the team. That was totally apparent in the 24 – 2 loss to the Giants. When your players quit playing for you, you should have the good sense to resign. If you are too stubborn to do that, you should be fired. Nothing good can come from this hanging on. It will wreck the team for pure selfishness. How many times have we been down that road????
GHunt
January 23rd, 2012
10:28 pm
I think Arthur Blank Knows that the past leadership has carried this franchaise as far as they can. Dimitroff and Smitty were forced to make changes and the changing of OC and DC and others coaches is a good start. However if Smitty does not allow the new coaches to utilize their skills then we will fail in the coming season. Run,run then pass is old school football.
Tell it like it is
January 23rd, 2012
10:46 pm
I would say its the talant,more than the coaching,give it another season,and we will no,because it will be coach Smith going out the door!
John
January 23rd, 2012
10:47 pm
Reading the blog…. I can tell you one thing and that is the majority of the folks that right in are clueless.
Mike Nolan will forge a cohesive unit. The players are not always the one to blame for a poor performance for example…. look at last years Falcons and this years San Fran team. San Fran signed the kicker from Philly. The rest of the roster stayed in tact. They upgraded the coaching and look what happened….. trip to the NFC championship game…..
hiramsaint
January 23rd, 2012
11:00 pm
poor john- you’re stuck in the falcons soup- FALCONS = Fans Always Left Counting On Next Season. look at what coach they upgraded and which one the falcons didn’t and there’s your answer
UGA Golfer
January 23rd, 2012
11:15 pm
The Falcons are mediocre at best in the defensive backfield. They really need to find some talent in the draft and free agency. The D needs an overhaul basically. I doubt we will see much change because Arthur Blank is completely lost when it comes to understanding what it takes to build a champion. He doesn’t spend enough money. Sorry, but the truth hurts. He should look for another investor or some other way to inject dollars to improve the team. The Saints are already there (and will get better), the Panthers are moving up and the Bucs have a lot of youth for their next coach to build on. Scary.
Michael M.
January 23rd, 2012
11:40 pm
When you take on a position ( employment) , they hired you to perform and produce the required results…………if you fail to do this, then they will seek out a suitable replacement for you I don’t care what type of work it is that you are doing. I think its a good thing for the Falcons Organization to do what it is doing to get the results that they wish to achieve.
On another matter not pertaining to the Falcons………It is on a article I read about the 49er’s player receiving death threats for fumbling the Football. You know its pretty darn bad when Players in a Sport have crap going on by some pissed Fan that can’t cope with the loss. Man, its a Football Game out there and anything can happen in a game to swing it in favor of one team or another.
” Just ask the Saints “, just a little joke Aint Fans, but really, we all need to act like intelligent adults instead of piss-off little brats when out Football,Baseball,Basketball or any related sports game is going on.
We all want to win but in the game their can be only one winner so that is the way it is and to have some idiot out there acting like that is a disgrace to the Sport of Football. I know the Atlanta Fans and some New Orleans Fans go at it on here but I hope and don’t want to think they neither side would ever be willing to call out one’s own Team players and say it was their fault and they wanted them blowed up or something stupid to that nature.
Its as good as a new Season already for both our teams and wish both clubs well and their fans also. So lets all enjoy the upcoming new season and best of luck to our club and to Saints but just let our club , the Falcons Rise Up and overshadow the Saints this year when they get to play them two times again !
tjhook
January 24th, 2012
12:54 am
@dcarter – making a lot of sense with that Offensive line analysis regarding Matt Ryan and Michael Turner
Opie Taylor
January 24th, 2012
1:07 am
All of the Scategoats are accounted for, Next up after 2012 Season Mike Smith and Tom Dimitroff, no one else to Blame for their lack of leadership and BALLS.
SawThat1nce
January 24th, 2012
1:54 am
The Falcons need to build a good DLine, that can mount a pass rush, or they need to hire someone who can build a good DLine.
Evander Holyfield's Last Remaining Brain Cell
January 24th, 2012
2:08 am
Fire and hire all of the coaches you want, it’s passing blame from Mike Smith and Thomas D. Without D-lineman and a pass rush it won’t matter who the coaches are!
Gritsfalcon
January 24th, 2012
2:34 am
We need a whole NEW Offensive line; That’s really where everything needs to start. 2nd and 3rd round picks should be for O linemen; Pick up two or three in FA in the off season. Ship the current crop out and try to get Harvey Dahl BACK to ATL.
joe
January 24th, 2012
3:11 am
we need a QB.
D-Man
January 24th, 2012
4:56 am
Next its time to cut the fat off this roster and gets some guys in here with some balls…these soft vanilla “its just okay that we got there” pushovers got to go. Don’t stop with just the staff Blank, some of the players on this roster need to go next.
Dean21
January 24th, 2012
6:15 am
SAINTS = Silly Azz Ignorant Nawlins Trash Scrubs