INDIANAPOLIS -- Atlanta Falcons coach Dan Quinn admitted taking over the defensive playcalling late last season, but said new defensive coordinator Marquand Manuel will get an opportunity to call the defense in 2017.
Quinn assumed the playcalling in Week 13 of the 2016 season as then-defensive coordinator Richard Smith took a back seat. Quinn and Smith parted ways after the season as Smith was hired as linebackers coach for the Los Angeles Chargers.
"From that point on, I had called the defense," Quinn said of the last eight games, including the playoffs. "Certainly it's true that we collaborate in the game plan in getting everything together.